Senior Spotlight: Aubrey Bonner

Who is Aubrey Bonner?

Aubrey Bonner is a senior at Jim Thorpe Are high school and a member of our Cross country team as well as our Track and field team. Aubrey is also our Student Council President and is a member of Jim Thorpe’s National Honor Society. Aubrey excels in Track and Cross country, she even went to states this year for Cross Country. Aubrey was also Jim Thorpe High School’s 2023 homecoming queen.

Which school tradition are you most proud of?

The volleyball tournament is so much fun, I think that’s one of my favorite traditions. Last year I did it with a bunch of my friends and made shirts and everything was so much fun.

The volleyball tournament is an annual tradition at our high school. It is usually held every December (depending on weather) and is run by our student council, who Aubrey is President of this year.

Which event did you most look forward to this year/ are most looking forward to? 

I’m looking forward to powderpuff in May. It was so much fun. I think it will be even better this year. I help plan it and we are more organized this year and will probably have more people join. Last year it was a new idea, and this year we are more prepared and it will be a lot better. It’s so much fun and I love it.

The powderpuff tournament is a new school tradition where girls play and guys cheer/coach. This tradition began last year. It is run by the student council and is usually hosted in May. 

What is your most memorable school sport memory? 

Probably making it to states this past year along with finding out I was the last one to medal at leagues last year. My friends James O'neill and Bowden Chicarelli were the ones to tell me. They were like, “Aubrey you got it!” And it was such a happy memory for me. I felt the same way this year when I found out I made it to states. As soon as they announced someone from Jim Thorpe made it we all started screaming and cheering.  It was great.

Favorite school memories?

Student council was a lot of fun. Helping with the polar express event was one of my favorite memories. We were all rushing around and it was a great memory that I shared with the past seniors. 

Favorite/teacher

Mr. Morgans is one of my favorite teachers. I love Mr. Morgans and I enjoy math, so he’s probably my favorite.

Mr. Morgans is a math teacher at our high school and teaches Honors Precalc, LCCC Intermediate Algebra and Geometry. 

Plans for after high school?

I’ve verbally committed to East Stroudsburg for track and field and cross country, so I plan to go there for the next four years. I’m also planning on majoring in marketing and minoring in sports management. 

Which subject do you think prepares you most for life after high school? Why?

Personal Finance. It's a class I took that really taught me a lot and I think the information I learned will be very useful. Especially when it comes to marketing and financially. A lot of the things I learned in that class will stick with me. It really helped. 

Personal Finance is a half semester course taught my Mrs. Thompson which focuses on problem solving strategies, making informed decisions, planning, budgeting, and more. 

Favorite subject?

My favorite subject has been Chemistry. I really enjoyed it last year. Looking back I realized I was really good at it and I kind of missed it. I liked it a lot. I liked doing all of the formulas and figuring things out. 

What about high school challenged you the most? 

Probably being online for so long. My whole freshman year was online and it was really rough. The transition from eighth grade and having such good grades to freshman year was hard. I still had pretty good grades but it wasn’t what I was used to. It was a lot more difficult and being online made it even more so. Freshman year and being online was just really hard. 

  Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 

Hopefully working with a company like Nike or Adidas for something with marketing, maybe advertising. That’s the big plan. I would love to work at a big company like that in marketing. I just love the idea of that and it seems so enjoyable for me. 

What motivates you?

 My family and friends. Having approval from them motivates me a lot. I want them to be proud of me. Like for states, if I didn’t have my teammates, I would have never made it to states and I don’t think I would have really wanted to. And with school, my parents' academic approval means a lot to me. 

Advice for freshman/other high school students? 

It sounds cliche, but it goes by so fast.   Definitely get involved in everything you can, and go out and do things, because it will go by fast and it’s so fun to be involved in these things. Enjoy it while it lasts and do as much as you can.

  How have your hobbies/ extra curricular activities influenced your future plans? 

When it comes to sports, I could never picture myself not doing cross country and track. I plan on continuing to do them all throughout college. I also want to keep running after college just for myself. Being involved in student council I think helped me a lot with leadership and I think that will help me a lot  throughout life, especially when going into the business aspect after high school and even college. 

What will you miss most about high school?

Definitely my friends and my teammates. I’ve met my possible teammates from East Stroudsburg and I like them and they are all really nice, but the idea of not having the people I’ve been running with for years makes me sad and I’m going to miss them a lot. I’ve been running for six years and especially this year I’ve gotten so close with my teammates that it’s going to be so sad to leave.

What are you most proud of accomplishing in high school?     

     There’s a few things. NHS, I'm really proud of. I remember when I applied to it, I was so anxious for so long, so I’m really proud of myself for making it. When it comes to sports I'm really happy I made it to states for track and cross country, and I'm really proud of the way I progressed in sports. 

Who have been the biggest influences in your life during high school? Why?

My dad and my coaches have been really big influences. My dad has had a huge influence on me when it comes to academics and just sports in general. My track coach Mr. Miller has also influenced me a lot.

What are you most looking forward to after graduation? 

I’m excited for the idea of having a fresh start, not that I necessarily need one but just the idea of having one is nice. I’m excited to be independent. I’ve always liked the idea of being on my own and doing my own thing, so I’m excited for that. 

How was the experience of becoming homecoming queen?

That was awesome. I was so excited. I was just happy to be on the homecoming court. I remember the day the polls came out to vote for homecoming court, me and Zac (Pompa) were about to start a meeting and were just on our phones texting people to vote and voting ourselves. We were so nervous.  I really didn’t even think I was going to win. All my friends got on too and getting to walk was so much fun. It didn’t feel real. I always wanted to be on homecoming court, I loved it. Getting my name announced was awesome too.

What are your hobbies?

I love lifting. I lift with my dad and really enjoy it. I also really enjoy shopping, I love it.  Shopping and lifting are probably my favorite things outside of school. I also love working at a toy store for my job.

Advice for juniors about senior year?

Get your Common App done early, it will relieve so much stress. Also, work and try really hard your Junior year. It’s very important and will make your senior year so much easier. I also recommend taking LCCC classes. They are really beneficial.

-Sadie Strack, Digest Writer