Kadee Meeker is a senior at HHS and is working as an intern at Royal Signs in Hennessey, and her mentor is Kathryn Meeker.
Kadee was born in Enid, Ok. She attended HPS through fourth grade before moving to Cashion where she attended fifth and sixth grade. She returned to HPS in seventh grade and has been here ever since. She has been an active member of STUCO (Student Council) for four years. Her junior year she served as vice president of fundraising and this year she is the treasurer. She played softball in ninth and tenth grade and has been on the Lady Eagles basketball and golf team for three years.
Kadee received her certification to become a lifeguard and this past summer she worked at the Hennessey Aquatic Center. Once school started this year, she continued to lifeguard on the weekends at the Vernie Snow Aquatic Center in Kingfisher until she became busy with her extracurricular activities at HHS.
Kadee has decided on a career in forensic science. She has considered this career for a couple of years, but it is only recently that she made the decision to follow through with that choice. Finding a host to intern with in the area of forensic science would have proved difficult so she requested to work under her mother at Royal Signs and learn more about bookkeeping and design using the computer. These are a couple of areas that she was interested in learning more about.
Kadee has been accepted to attend UCO (University of Central Oklahoma) next fall. She plans on getting a degree in Forensic Pathology.
Michael Pacula is a senior at HHS and is in his second year of internship with Eagle Iron Works. He has been very active in extracurricular activities. He has been a long-standing member of the band and added the jazz band into his schedule during his sophomore and junior years. He is currently in his third year as a member of the Hennessey choir.
On the academic side, he was a member of the Quiz Bowl team in his sophomore and junior years. During his summers he has worked at several different places. He worked as an assistant groundskeeper at the Hennessey Country Club and also spent some summers working at Pizza Hut and Golden Chick in Hennessey. What really stands out about Michael is his time as a volunteer at the Hennessey Public Library. Since the beginning of his ninth-grade year, he has been showing up at the library almost every day of each school year to help the librarian in any way he can.
Michael is interested in becoming a diesel mechanic. When he was much younger there were several movies that enticed him and led to his interest in mechanics. The movies “Cars” and “Fast and Furious” were just a couple that he remembered. His first hands-on experience was working on his own truck. His favorite pastime is rebuilding engines and he is currently restoring a three-wheeler at his residence.
Frank Patton at Eagle Iron Works accepted Michael as an intern last year and again this year. He has been working under and getting his on-the-job instruction from Lalo Torres. Last year, Michael was doing a lot of oil changes and small jobs. This year he is getting more experience with bigger projects. He recently helped with a complete rear differential rebuild which included replacing the gears, bearings, and seals on a truck. He says that he works more efficiently now and credits that to the guidance he has received from Lalo. Michael plans on attending Autry Technology in Enid after graduation and getting certified as a diesel mechanic.
Both Kadee and Michael are part of the Hennessey School Career & Internship Program. This program, directed by Kim Hallmark matches students with business allowing them to experience real-life day-to-day operations in a career field they have an interest in.