Sadie Nay is among the 44 members of the Trinity Lutheran High School Class of 2022.
Freshman year at Trinity Lutheran High School was a bit rocky at first for Sadie Nay because she didn’t know anybody there and it was all new to her.
As the year progressed, she became more comfortable with her peers and her teachers because she became involved in several activities, including cross-country, track and field and yearbook, and she found her place at the school.
She is the daughter Markt and Sherry Nay of Deputy.
“Previously, my sister, Mya, and I went to a different high school, and I was four days into the new school year when my parents, my sister, a junior at the time, and I decided to move schools,” she said. “For us, it wasn’t a great fit and we weren’t a fan of the environment there. It was a larger school, so we decided on Trinity because of the small school environment and because of its Christian background.”
It didn’t take long for Nay to make friends at the school, as she became involved in classes and activities.
“I like that it is a Christian school, and I also like how small Trinity is,” she said. “For some, that is a negative thing, but I really like getting to know everyone on a personal level. I can also say that I really enjoyed all of the extracurricular activities and sports I was involved in.”
Her other activities include student media, National Honor Society, student council, student ambassadors, Academic Super Bowl, Art Club, cadet teaching and Euchre Club.
“For the past two years, I have also been involved at Immanuel Lutheran School as a volunteer cross-country coach.” Nay said. “I loved working with the kids, and I led stretches with them and ran with them throughout the practice. I also attended almost every meet and practice.”
Her brother, 11-year-old Josiah Nay, runs at Immanuel, so she took him to his practices and meets, as well.
“After graduation, I’m definitely going to miss my friends and my teachers. In particular, I’ll definitely miss art class with Mrs. (Carrie) Adler,” Nay said. “I also really enjoyed running track this year. We were a really close team, and it was fun to practice and grow together in our athletic abilities.”
She said it is incredibly important to manage time well while juggling homework, sports and activities.
“Whenever I had free time at the end of class or during my study hall, I always tried to get as much of my homework done as I could,” Nay said. “This makes your life a lot easier after school, especially when you have sports or other extracurricular events.”
One of her favorite classes is cadet teaching.
“Every day at the end of the day, I go to Immanuel Lutheran School and help out in Mrs. (Julia) Bell’s first grade classroom,” Nay said. “I get to help kids with their assignments and other activities. This year, I got to teach lessons to the first-graders, read with them and even play with them at recess.”
She is most proud of the work she did with volunteer cross-country coaching at Immanuel.
“For the past two seasons, I had the privilege of working with head coach Keith Dyer. I went to almost all of the team’s meets and practices,” Nay said. “Every practice, I got to run with the kids, lead stretches and encourage them. My brother, Josiah, has ran for the team the past two years, so it was nice to be able to support him, as well.”
She said she has grown in many areas during track and learned it takes a lot of patience because in order to improve, you must put in a lot of time and hard work.
Nay said when it comes to teachers at Trinity, if she had to pick one who has made an impact in her life, it would definitely be Adler.
“I have had her all four years of high school, and she is an amazing teacher, very easy to talk to and never hesitates to say what’s on her mind,” she said. “She always keeps things interesting, and there is never a dull moment in her class.”
Nay said Adler’s classroom is a safe space for learning, creativity and speaking what’s on your mind.
“I have always felt at ease in her class, and I am definitely going to miss her and all of her jokes, which were sometimes at my expense, next year,” she said.
With graduation coming up Saturday for Trinity’s 44-member Class of 2022, Nay said it is very bittersweet.
“I had some great relationships with teachers and friends, so I’ll definitely miss that, but I’m very excited to go to Purdue this fall,” she said. “They have a great elementary education program, and I’m looking forward to all of the new experiences to come.”
Nay said she would like to give a huge thank-you to all of her teachers and coaches she has had throughout the years.
“Thank you for your time, patience and dedication to my Christian education and development,” she said. “I would like to also thank coach Keith Dyer, who I got to work with for the past two years and who coached Trinity track during my senior year. I had so much fun this season.”
Nay said her advice for incoming freshmen is for them is to stay on top of their work.
“Once you’re behind, it can be very difficult to catch up,” she said. “Most importantly, I would say to respect your peers and your teachers.”
