Motivation the key to Alesha Felix’s drive to excel
Alesha Felix's busy schedule didn't deter her from tackling five Holmes County 4-H Life Skills projects and earning a spot in the Holmes County Junior Fair royal court during this year's fair.
Alesha Felix is an ambitious young lady who is looking forward to her senior year at Loudonville with great expectations.
An already full slate of activity has one addition to it during the Holmes County Fair, that being selected to serve as a member of the Holmes County Junior Fair court as a queen’s attendant.
When Felix puts her effort into something, you can pretty much bet she is going to go all in.
This past school year, she was a key cog in both the Loudonville High School Redbirds’ softball campaign and also helped lead her team to the OHSAA state tournament in Division IV. She also crafted a fantastic season on the diamond, garnering post-season honors for the Redbirds in softball.
When it came time to dig in and do the work for her Holmes County 4-H Life Skills project, it wasn’t a matter of doing a project but rather projects, five of them in total, and each one brought its own unique set of challenges that Felix was more than capable of tackling to complete her projects on time.
It was such a voluminous number of projects that come fair time, it was difficult for her to even recall all of them.
“I kind of just make time in the evenings when I can make some time to focus on my different projects,” Felix said. “I think I can recall all of them if I take a little time.”
Her projects included canning and freezing, beekeeping, writing, photography and an athlete independent project, and the end results of her hard work saw her receive top scores in each category.
“I love the challenge, and I like trying something new every year,” Felix said. “Finding time to do all of those projects was probably the biggest challenge. I really didn’t set a specific number of projects. I tried to pick projects that interested me.”
Being so involved in so many different things takes great discipline, and Felix said it is a matter of prioritizing what is truly important.
In addition, she said performing well on all her Life Skills projects is what drives her to excel.
She even achieved a first for herself at the Ohio State Fair this year where she received a coveted clock trophy award for her athlete project, where her judge found her project to be impeccable with no faults.
She said that was a surprise and a thrill, and it motivated her to push herself even harder in doing her best in anything she attempts.
“The simple motivation of wanting to do well on whatever I do drives me, and getting good scores and good results in everything I work on helps me push through and stay focused,” Felix said.
All the involvement in school, athletics, 4-H and more has helped Felix develop a blend of work ethic, leadership skills and talents. Developing those leadership qualities has driven her to focus her attention on becoming more of a leader and mentor for younger kids, whether it is in 4-H, community, school or athletics.
That type of leadership has lent itself to many in her peer group to consider her the “mom friend,” meaning her maturity and personality make her someone kids can turn to for advice or direction.
“I like being the older kid others can rely on,” Felix said. “I think it’s the ‘mom friend’ in me that enjoys helping others find success.”
She said that trait has come from having defining role models when she was younger who helped her learn to push herself. Now she wants to be that person who helps others do the same.
“I’ve learned a great deal of leadership from others, and through both sports and 4-H,” Felix said.
Now she will have the 2024-25 year to share what she has learned and to apply herself in school and in representing Holmes County as a member of the royal court.
“I’m very excited to be able to represent our county and fair and to share everything amazing about who we are and what we’re all about,” Felix said.
She said she is taking extra courses in preparation to attend college and work toward earning a degree in teaching in the sciences or English, noting she has had many teachers who have helped motivate her to strive to achieve great things and make a positive impact on others.
“I want to help kids,” Felix said. “I’ve always enjoyed being the kid in class who helped others.”
Being as motivated as she is, Felix is well on her way to making an impact in whatever she chooses to do.