“She is a remarkably aware young person,” Debate teacher Matt Good said.
Ava Wischnewski is involved in Youth and Government as Attorney General, Advanced Debate, Robotics, National French Honor Society, Model UN, and Titan Ambassadors, as well as being the President of the National Chinese Honor Society. “I’ve always been a little over-involved,” Wischnewski said. “I did the club rush, and I was always sad we could only go to three.”
In Debate, Wischnewski achieved qualifying state for United States Extemporaneous speaking.
“She has almost reached a level of wisdom, as opposed to just maturity and conviction of belief,” Good said.
Aside from the Debate side of things, “Robotics is super meaningful to me relationship wise,” Wischnewski said. Additionally, Wischnewski said she is proud of winning the Impact award in robotics, which got their team to the World Championship, an achievement that her and her teammates poured their work into.
She began robotics in seventh grade out of her aspiration to be an environmental engineer.
Wischnewski said that, no matter the career path, everything begins with her environmentalism. “Even in middle school, I went zero waste,” Wischnewski said. In doing this, she realized her real passion was in policy, and the decisions that people make.
“I was beating myself up over accidentally getting a plastic bag, and I was like, ‘Wait, this is the government’s fault, this is big business’ fault, and I can have a role in changing that,’” Wischnewski said.
After finally tracking down the Jackson County Democrats, Wischnewski got an interview and obtained an internship as the Jackson County Democrats’ Fellow.
“In the fall time, when it was midterms, I was working on campaigns, and that meant, in the spring, I’ve been lucky enough to go down to Jeff City and spend the day with a couple legislators,” Wischnewski said.
“She wants to go into politics and lobbying so that she can continue advocating for minorities and people who don’t necessarily have as much of a voice,” Wischnewski’s debate partner and friend senior Regan Clewell said.
Wischnewski is planning to attend Mizzou to study Political-Sciences, with the end goal of being involved with the government in Jefferson City. As to where exactly, Wischnewski hopes to explore the opportunities in state politics and find where she can make the most impact.
“I’m just going to take these five years –- I’m getting a one year master –- to intern literally everywhere in Jeff city,” which will include lobbies, volunteer organizations, and representatives, Wischnewski said.
“The good thing about Ava is she’s going to be successful no matter what she does,” Mr. Good said.
