Latest / The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District / Episode #49-Lauren Mattioli, Senior at Auburn Mountainview High School

Transcript

Episode #49-Lauren Mattioli, Senior at Auburn Mountainview High School · The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District

0:15
SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to the Recess Podcast.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Dr.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: Alan Speciati, the proud superintendent of the Auburn School District.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: The recess gives me a chance to introduce you to some of the people who make the district so special.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes that's our staff.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: But for several episodes to the end of the year, our tradition is to interview a graduating senior from each of our four high schools.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: And I look forward to these episodes every year.
0:42
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully you do too.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: I think we're going to have a lot of fun.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: And today it's my pleasure to interview Lauren Matioli.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: Lauren is a senior at Auburn Mountain View High School, uh Go Lions.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: So we're going to hear about Auburn Mountain View, Lauren, her experience in school, her future plans, and wherever else this takes us.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Without further ado, uh let's welcome in Lauren Mattioli.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: Welcome.
1:08
SPEAKER_01: Hi, I'm so excited to be on here.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad that you're with me.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, this is fun.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: Uh I just love talking to kids.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Uh I love being out in schools, and um I always think it's a shame that people can't like see the things that I see and have a chance to get to see kids all the time.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: Uh, because our students, I'm just gonna do a shameless plug so you can just just uh hang out for a second.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: Our kids are amazing, and I'm not just saying this because Lauren's here, um, they're doing truly unbelievable things.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: One of Lauren's classmates literally talked his way into a meeting with the governor to advocate for education uh this year, and and you know, every day I hear a story like that of uh students who are taking academic courses that like didn't even exist when I was in school uh and doing amazing things, um doing ROTC and current technical classes and just being ready to make their mark on the world in a lot of ways that make me proud and inspired.
2:12
SPEAKER_00: Um or they're just downright fun.
2:14
SPEAKER_00: So um get out and and uh talk to kids uh because sometimes I think we have our own biases as older people, and when you interact with with young people, uh I think it really helps expand your world.
2:28
SPEAKER_00: And uh I'm really excited to be able to do that right now with Lauren and share that with you.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: So, Lauren, I start my episodes with a question for every guest, and this is gonna be really fun with a current student.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: Who was or is your favorite teacher and why?
2:44
SPEAKER_01: My favorite teacher, you know, will always be my dad, Mr.
2:47
SPEAKER_01: Matthioli, but I never had him personally as a teacher.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: Do you call him Mr.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: Matthioli?
2:52
SPEAKER_01: No, I call him dad.
2:54
SPEAKER_01: But my favorite current teacher is um Mrs.
2:57
SPEAKER_01: Chu.
2:58
SPEAKER_01: She's my UW Comp teacher, but I've had her since ninth grade.
3:02
SPEAKER_01: So I had her for LA honors in ninth grade, then I didn't have her in tenth grade, but I had her 11th grade for AP Lang, and then now in 12th grade for UW Comp.
3:11
SPEAKER_01: She has taught me from verbs all the way to my personal statement for college, and just she has helped me grow into such such a unique woman, and like she's just so strong and such a good role model for me and my fellow classmates.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's terrific.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: Uh, a great teacher.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: We had many at Auburn Mountain View.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: And you're in a unique position.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: Your father's an educator.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: You want to just uh give him a shout out for a second?
3:34
SPEAKER_01: Yes, my dad is a teacher at Olympic Middle School.
3:38
SPEAKER_01: He teaches um oh, he's gonna get mad at me for not knowing this.
3:41
SPEAKER_01: It's history, but it's I think it's ancient world history.
3:44
SPEAKER_01: He teaches sixth and seventh graders, and he doesn't teach avid anymore, but he taught it for a couple years.
3:50
SPEAKER_01: He was actually the avid coordinator for a while.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: He also coaches baseball and he does the scoreboards for um soccer and basketball games.
3:58
SPEAKER_01: He's just such like a selfless man and he's such a good role model to look up to.
4:03
SPEAKER_01: I just love my dad so much.
4:04
SPEAKER_01: Like he's just such a hard worker, and like he's taught me so much about empathy and like kindness and how to be like the best person that I can be every day.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: That is so sweet.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: And uh Lauren was telling me uh she's also proud of her mom and her uh older sister who's away in college.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh so it sounds like a great family.
4:23
SPEAKER_00: All right, uh, let's talk about your experience at Auburn Mountain View.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: And one thing that I love about Auburn Mountain View is such strong school spirit and like a well-rounded education.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: Like the school does a really good job of incorporating, you know, athletics, the theater program, music, uh, into like the full experience of students, clubs, multicultural blows that out every year.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, so talk about what extracurricular activities you have done through your career.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: So, some extracurriculars that I've done is I played volleyball for our f all four years.
4:58
SPEAKER_01: Luckily enough, and one of my biggest honors is that I was the captain for my junior and my senior year.
5:04
SPEAKER_01: I also have played softball all four years.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: This year I'm the captain.
5:08
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, go lions.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: Um, I have also done basketball.
5:12
SPEAKER_01: I played that my freshman year.
5:14
SPEAKER_01: I also am part of the sports med club.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: I also did DECA.
5:18
SPEAKER_01: And lastly, I did I've done Lion Crew, which is where you show freshmen around when they're eighth graders, and then when they come, you show the same freshmen around for like their first classes and like show them where everything is.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: So I think that really like oh, also I'm a part of ASV.
5:33
SPEAKER_01: I'm a part of executive ASV, and I think I just love it.
5:36
SPEAKER_01: I just think it's so much fun, and it gives me such an opportunity to look at like the school from like different angles with like all the things that I do.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: That's a whole lot.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: That's really good.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: Tell us just a little bit more.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: First of all, do you have a favorite of all those activities?
5:51
SPEAKER_01: Um, my favorite would have to be um ASB, executive ASB, because I do do that with one of my best friends, Mariana, and then also softball.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: I play club softball and softball for the school, and I just love it.
6:01
SPEAKER_01: I just love being out there with like my girls and my friends.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: Like, I just think I love coming to practice every day and like seeing them and get to play with them every day.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Tell our audience about Sports Med for a second, because it's like a really special program in the Auburn School District.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: A lot of high schools don't have it.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: We have a really robust program.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: It's you learn a lot, it's hands-on.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: So introduce that to our audience.
6:22
SPEAKER_01: So I'm a part of the sport sports medicine program with Stephen Calhoun.
6:26
SPEAKER_01: I had to take anatomy, my sophomore year.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: You can take anatomy and sports med at the same time, but both of those classes are very rigorous and they're both very hard.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: So I would recommend taking anatomy, your sophomore year, then sports med.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: So sports med is like um he said is a hands-on experience.
6:43
SPEAKER_01: I have to get 250 hours ever a year to pass the class.
6:49
SPEAKER_01: So hours can include working with the team, taping, traveling with the team, filling up water bottles, icing, ice buckets, carrying ADs, like the kit.
7:01
SPEAKER_01: It's just a lot of um hands-on work with the athletes.
7:04
SPEAKER_01: You're not just like learning about like the shoulder or the muscles or injuries, you're like actively seeing the injuries and like helping people, and it's very fulfilling because I love like getting to do a taping, and then someone gets to do the sport that they love immediately after it, and I get it like help them.
7:20
SPEAKER_01: I just think it's so great.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: That is really great, and it's real-world experience without even leaving your campus.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: Uh that's that's really terrific.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: And we've got some great, you know, you mentioned Mr.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: Calhoun, and he's the daytime teacher, and then there's a great um sports medicine, uh, athletic trainer, professional on the club.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, Mr.
7:40
SPEAKER_01: Leithly.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: I love Mr.
7:42
SPEAKER_01: Leithly.
7:42
SPEAKER_01: He is so kind, he is so nice, he cares about all his students, like all the um athletes.
7:48
SPEAKER_01: He cares about all of them.
7:49
SPEAKER_01: He's he's just such like a hands-on type of guy, and he just tries to help everybody, and he just does such a good job at it.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: And so you work under his direction when you're out there on the field.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: Good.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: All right, that's you're involved in a lot of stuff, which is which is really amazing.
8:05
SPEAKER_00: I have a hunch that this is gonna bleed right into my next question.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: Uh I was like asking, what advice would you give to a middle school student entering high school next year?
8:15
SPEAKER_01: I thought about this a lot when I when I saw that this was one of the questions, and what I think I would want to tell a middle school student is it's not uncool to care, to care about your grades, to care about your friends, to care about trying new things.
8:28
SPEAKER_01: It's it doesn't make you less cool to care about the things that you're doing.
8:34
SPEAKER_01: Because if I thought that if, oh, I didn't do ASB, if I did sports med, if I tried out for volleyball, I would look less uncool, like less like, oh, big hot shot, I don't try anything new, then that's just like just try new things.
8:49
SPEAKER_01: Trying new things is what high school is all about.
8:51
SPEAKER_01: So I would tell every middle schooler that I can it's not uncool to care about things, care about the people that are around you, care about your school, care about school spirit.
9:00
SPEAKER_01: Just care about things.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: Great advice.
9:03
SPEAKER_00: Okay, we're gonna look ahead here.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: Uh so we're recording this right before spring break.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: Um, this is gonna air a little bit later because uh we package these episodes to celebrate our class of 2026 already.
9:17
SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: And you were just saying you just uh tried on your cap and gas.
9:21
SPEAKER_01: Yes, we just got them.
9:22
SPEAKER_01: You know, so it's so real.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: It's getting real, right?
9:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it is getting real.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: Let's look ahead a little bit.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: What are you looking forward to after graduation?
9:30
SPEAKER_01: After graduation, um, I'm looking forward to obviously hanging out with my friends, my family.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: Luckily enough, all mostly all of my friends are staying in state.
9:40
SPEAKER_01: So a lot of them are going to Wazoo, going to Central, a couple of them are going to the college that I'm going to, and just I'm so glad that I get to spend this last summer with them, you know, and not have to obviously I have to worry about college, but like worry about, oh, I hope we're in the same class next year.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: I hope we all have lunch together.
9:56
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like a different feeling, and I just hope that like all of us can just have like the best summer ever, you know?
10:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: Are you are you able to share what people you're going to?
10:06
SPEAKER_01: I am going to the University of Washington, Seattle.
10:09
SPEAKER_01: I'm super duper excited.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm super duper excited.
10:13
SPEAKER_01: I'm studying political science.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: Excellent.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: We're we're biased.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: Go dogs.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: Yes, go dogs.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: We're equal opportunity, go cugs and everybody else, but I'll bet Mrs.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: Heron is very proud of you.
10:23
SPEAKER_01: So Mrs.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: Heron is very proud of me.
10:25
SPEAKER_01: So we're both my parents.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: They both went to UW.
10:28
SPEAKER_01: So I was ecstatic when I got accepted.
10:31
SPEAKER_01: It was it was awesome.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: It was the probably like the best day of my life.
10:34
SPEAKER_00: Like and I was so excited uh here in Huskies there.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: I might have missed this.
10:38
SPEAKER_00: Uh, what do you plan to study?
10:39
SPEAKER_01: Political science on a pre-law track.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: Great.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: What do you what do you see yourself doing down the road?
10:46
SPEAKER_01: I see myself doing, I would like, I love Washington.
10:49
SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm going to the University of Washington.
10:51
SPEAKER_01: I'm staying close to home, but I would love to try to go to the East Coast um to finish out my law degree.
10:57
SPEAKER_01: And then I would like to work at a private firm and eventually be partner there.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: Big dreams.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: That's great.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: Good for you.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: Good for you.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: And you'll take it one step at a time.
11:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, and uh just really excited for you.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: I I'm skipping around here.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: I did we didn't write this down, but w what do you think are the courses that help prepare you, you know, for the UW, for thinking ahead to um political silence and pre-law and this career that you want to have?
11:25
SPEAKER_01: I took some pretty hard courses, like four years of high school.
11:29
SPEAKER_01: I think my most important courses that I took were AP Lang, um, AP US history, and AP um government and politics.
11:39
SPEAKER_01: I think those are probably like my big three, and they really taught me like first off, um, AP US history and then AP Gov.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: They taught me, you know, about the government, how the government came to be, like what it means like to be American, like how many people fought for this opportunity that I now have.
11:55
SPEAKER_01: And I think that really gave me a good perspective, and it also taught me a lot of things about the three branches of government, legislation, like such like that.
12:03
SPEAKER_01: And then AP Lang, I had that with Mrs.
12:06
SPEAKER_01: Chu.
12:06
SPEAKER_01: It taught me about how to write a really good essay, research essays, argument essays.
12:11
SPEAKER_01: I think it really like honed in and like strengthened my writing skills to what they are now.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: You laid that out really well, you tied it together, how those uh courses support your future plan.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna um put one more uh uh experience against uh your future plans just to see if you think that that this also contributed.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: Tell me how DECA.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: So what it first of all, what is DECA?
12:37
SPEAKER_01: DECA is it's a class that you can take to experience multi-level marketing.
12:42
SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure.
12:43
SPEAKER_01: I know the acronym stands for something, I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's to focus on multi-level marketing and how that works in the real world.
12:52
SPEAKER_01: And I took it my sophomore year, and I f had the opportunity to go to state in the interview section.
12:59
SPEAKER_01: So they sit me down in a room and they give me a prompt, and then I have 10 minutes to write the prompt, and then I go into an interview with two judges, and I basically have to make up my own evidence for this prompt and try to convince them to buy or to sell or to get this thing that I want.
13:16
SPEAKER_01: That's just the um component of DECA that I did personally, but I was lucky enough, I did place, I didn't make it to nationals, unfortunately, but I did place, and I feel like that really taught me like really good interview skills like this and real life experiences of like talking to people that you may not know like fully and how that can teach you to like be brave or like go out of your shell, really.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, do you see where I'm going with this?
13:37
SPEAKER_00: I to me that is great pre-law prep as well.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
13:40
SPEAKER_00: You're uh you're being articulate, you're making a case, you're trying to convince somebody of something.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: Uh obviously, your poise and confidence and professionalism and presentation all goes into I've been amazed by DECA students, and when I get to see their presentations, uh it's it's quite impressive.
13:56
SPEAKER_00: And it's not unlike, you know, doing trial law or those kind of things, public speaking, right?
14:03
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, great.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you have such a diverse and and powerful background.
14:09
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I'm sure you're gonna be successful at anything you do.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: Let's let's shift gears and make it a little bit more fun here.
14:16
SPEAKER_00: What do you do when you're not at school?
14:18
SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, you sound like you're very busy.
14:19
SPEAKER_00: All those AP classes, all those extracurriculars.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: Uh when you get some downtime, you get you get to be yourself a little bit.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: What do you do?
14:27
SPEAKER_01: I really like going thrifting.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: I really like going thrifting with my friends.
14:31
SPEAKER_01: I also enjoy doing crafts.
14:33
SPEAKER_01: I really like painting or sewing.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: And then, especially during the winter time right now, if my parents and me can really get away, we really like going skiing up at Mission Ridge in Wenatchee or um Crystal Mountain in Enum Claw.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: Sounds really fun.
14:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: Good.
14:49
SPEAKER_00: Uh well, you've got a little free time, uh, uh some weekends, breaks, and then summer, and then uh you jump into your college.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: So maybe uh probably no more skis uh ski.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know, no more skis.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: No skiing, but uh you'll you'll still uh get to do a lot of that fun stuff before you go to school.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: Before we wrap up, is there anything else you'd like to share about uh high school or or your experience in the Auburn School District?
15:16
SPEAKER_01: I have lived in Auburn my whole life.
15:18
SPEAKER_01: My dad worked here, you know, my both my parents went here, my aunt went here, um, you know, and I just think that Auburn is such a great place to raise your children.
15:27
SPEAKER_01: I think the Auburn School District does a really good job, and I think it creates a lot of culture and connection with the students, and I just find that really impressive.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: I also want to shout out Miss Erdman, my ASB um advisor.
15:41
SPEAKER_01: I, Miss Erdman really pushes me out of my shell, and she pushed me to do ASB, and that's why I'm sitting here today.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: I really like I really feel like she taught me a lot of the skills, you know, public speaking, she makes me do all the assemblies, and I just want to shout out her.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: She does such a good job.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: She's also the um activities coordinator, and like you mentioned, you mentioned how everyone at our school is really connected with all the clubs and the sports and the theater.
16:06
SPEAKER_01: Miss Erman does a lot of that.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: She does such a good job, and it's just her, and I just want to shout her out.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: Excellent.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: The ASB at Upper Mountain View does a great job, and I'm glad you mentioned the assemblies.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: I've I've noted this on the podcast before.
16:19
SPEAKER_00: I've been out for quite a number.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: Veterans Day, MLK, you know, spirit things, the college time, all the all the things that are both spirit builders but really community builders, and that that just I mentioned the the multi multicultural fairs are amazing.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: The food, the dance, singing, culture, interaction, so much of that is student-led.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: And uh Miss Urban does a really good job of being the guide, but also letting letting you guys take the lead, and it's uh just really impressive.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: So uh congrats to Oubur Mountain View and uh to your whole team there.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: All right, as we wrap up, share share with the audience.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm about to ask my last question, and they know what's coming because I asked this of every guest, but uh just to put it in context, uh what schools did you attend before Albert Mountain View?
17:13
SPEAKER_01: I attended Hazelwood Elementary and then Rainier Middle School.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: Very good.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: So when you were at Hazelwood, probably Rainier Middle School has a little, like at lunch, they kind of let loose.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: It's not exactly recess, but you know, recess is really in the wheelhouse of elementary.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: Uh think back to your time at Hazelwood.
17:30
SPEAKER_00: What was your favorite thing to do at recess, Lauren?
17:32
SPEAKER_01: My favorite thing to do at recess was always foursquare.
17:36
SPEAKER_01: I loved Foursquare.
17:38
SPEAKER_01: We played it.
17:38
SPEAKER_01: Me and then Becca and Ethan were my neighbors, and then my older sister, Lucia.
17:42
SPEAKER_01: We would draw little squares in the chalk at home.
17:45
SPEAKER_01: We'd play Foursquare at home, and then when we would get to school, we would play Foursquare again.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: And I was always a lot taller than the other kids.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: I'm, you know, I'm still taller than most of the kids now, but Foursquare, I could really like lunge at the balls and get them a lot quicker than a lot of people.
17:59
SPEAKER_01: So I really liked Foursquare.
18:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: How fun.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: When's the last time you played?
18:04
SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness, probably like fifth grade.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so seniors get free license to do a lot of silly stuff.
18:10
SPEAKER_00: I think you get that chalk out and uh have a good foursquare game before you graduate.
18:14
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I will.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: My guest has been Lauren Mattioli, a senior at Auburn Mountain View High School, home of the lions.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh, very active with softball, volleyball, ASB Sports Med, um French Club.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: We didn't even talk about Lion Club, DECA, and just an all-around good kid, great student, and uh future UW Husky.
18:35
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being with me.
18:37
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: And this has been the Recess Podcast, a production of the Auburn School District.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: Uh, it's been my pleasure to share one of our graduating seniors.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: We're going to do this for all four of our high schools, so please tune in to the upcoming episodes of the Recess Podcast.