Senior Spotlight: Lexis Gleason
Launch the media gallery 1 playerOn the beautiful day of January 3, 2008, in Norfolk, NE, Amy MacDonald and Justin Gleason were blessed with their second daughter, Lexis Marie Gleason.
In addition to her mom and dad, Lexis has a step-dad: Jeremy MacDonald. Lexis also has five other siblings: Leah Pinkston, age 19; Austin LeCompte Klug, her half-brother, age 18; Zoey MacDonald, her step-sister, age 16; Lily Gleason, her half-sister, age 11; and Jaxxyn MacDonald, her step-brother, age 6.
Lexis’s grandparents are Janette and Dave (Theron) Pinkston of Leigh, Nebraska.
Lexis also has four pets at home: Kirby, a Tabby cat; Valentina, a Ticked Tabby cat; Dexter, a black Lab Rottweiler mix; and Pepper, an Australian Shepard Huskie mix.
Throughout Lexis’s high school career, she has participated in many school activities: Cheer, Track, Band, Journalism, and One-Act for four years; National Honor Society and Speech for three years; JAG, Softball, and Dance for two years; and Yearbook for one year.
Lexis has earned the honors of Student of the Month, National Honor Society, Cheer Captain for two years, and A-B Honor Roll.
Outside of school, you can find Lexis working at Schwartz Farms located at Pheasant Ridge by Stanton. In the summer, she also works at the Humphrey Pool.
Lexis says her proudest high school accomplishment was completing and receiving her CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) license.
Lexis’s future plans include going to the College of Hair Design for Cosmetology, Barbering, and Esthetics or UNL for teaching.
If Lexis won a fortune in the lottery, she would put a portion of it off to the side to pay for all of her college debt and then she would start building a home. She would also go shopping with the money that she has left over.
If Lexis could travel anywhere in the world, she would go to Japan because she feels like it’s really pretty and it would fulfill her childhood dreams.
Lexis’s biggest pet peeve is when people chew loud or with their mouth open.
Three words that best describe Lexis are social, passionate, and emotional.
In 10-15 years, Lexis sees herself with a job in a smaller town because she is not a huge fan of living in the city. She hopes to live in the country.
Three goals on Lexis’s bucket list are going to another country, owning a horse, and being fluent in Spanish.
In her life, Lexis says one person she admires is her softball coach, Drew Machmueller. “He is a great coach and a fantastic leader. I swear he does everything and is involved in everything, and somehow he is good at it all.”
Throughout her time at Leigh, Lexis has made many great memories. “My favorite high school memory is going to finals in speech with Jocelyn Donnelly and being so excited and surprised every time,” Lexis says.
In Lexis’s free time, she loves to go out with her friends even if they don’t necessarily do anything. She just likes sitting around in their presence.
Lexis has a lot of favorites, like her favorite subject: Math, (when she understands what’s going on) or English. Lexis doesn’t really have a favorite movie right now, but when she was little, it was Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Her favorite song is “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus or “Waving Through a Window” by Ben Platt. Her favorite food is fish and chips. Her favorite sports team is the Broncos because that’s who her mom likes. Her favorite color is green. Lexis loves summer and the pool. She also loves talking in the car with her friends after getting fast food.
Lexis says her most embarrassing moment is a memory from speech. “Jocelyn and I were in a duet together for a speech and our first year we did a speech called ‘Disney Mom Group Therapy.’ We made it to finals for the first time and I remember forgetting my lines in front of the whole room. Then, I interrupted Jocelyn and burst out laughing in front of everyone when we were supposed to be serious. That was really embarrassing. It’s okay though because we got 3rd.”
Lexis has this advice to underclassmen before she leaves Leigh High School: “Be yourself and your life will be 100x better. Wanting to fit in is understandable, but you have to realize that the people who are going to be with you for the long run are the people that will accept you as you come. Life is the most fun when you stop hiding your real personality and find people with similar interests as you.”
We wish Lexis the best of luck, and we hope she is successful in her future endeavors!