As senior Gillian Mitzel finishes her last year at Sheridan High School, she will be using her dedication and passion to get through the rest of the year. Mitzel and her peers are excited to see what is in store, knowing that the future has big things planned for her. 

   Mitzel has been a part of the Lady Bronc Basketball program for four years. Throughout those years, Mitzel has grown into a leader for the younger players on the team, showing the girls what dedication looks like. Head coach Ryan Sullivan is proud of Mitzel for becoming a leader and believes that what she does makes an impact on everyone around her. “She shows up to everything in the offseason,” said Sullivan. “She never misses an open gym, she never misses tournaments and she comes in to shoot in the mornings. Whatever she’s asked to do she does; she is awesome.” Mitzel understands that as a senior, she needs to fill a leadership role that gives the girls someone to look up to just as she did when she was at that younger stage. 

   As an underclassman playing for the Lady Broncs, she was able to see how to lead, and how that creates an amazing culture within the program, motivating the younger athletes to act the same way when they fill Mitzel’s position. “I would say I just need to lead by example,” said Mitzel. “For example, in practice, I need to be intense in everything that we do.” Through her actions, many young basketball players admire Mitzel for not only her dedication to her team but how she treats her teammates on the court. Mitzel is frequently seen high-fiving her teammates or praising them for something they did well, showing the community and team what it means to support their team on and off the court. With Mitzel being a key factor in the culture of the Lady Bronc Program, many of her teammates have said that it is going to be hard to say goodbye to her at the end of this season. 

   Mitzel has a few goals in mind, both individual and team, as she competes for her final season as a Lady Bronc. “One of our team goals is to get to state and win as many games as we can,” said Mitzel. “An individual goal for me is to just get better every game and play like it is my last because it is my last season ever.” 

   Sullivan enjoys coaching Mitzel because of who she is, and how she displays selflessness when something is asked of her, something Sullivan did not have to coach her to do. “Gillian is really selfless,” said Sullivan. “She sometimes is put into a role that I know she does not love, but she still does it because it is the best thing for the team. I never have to worry about ego with Gillian. She just does what’s asked of her, and it is awesome.” 

   Mitzel is not only dedicated to the Lady Broncs but she is dedicated to what she does off the court and in the classroom. Mitzel is currently enrolled in Precalculus, Human Anatomy and Physiology, English 1010, AP Spanish and is taking part in an internship at Meadowlark Elementary School. During Mitzel’s internship, she helps Mrs. Freid, a fourth-grade teacher, by reading with kids and helping them with their interventions. Although Mitzel enjoys her internship, AP Spanish is her favorite class she is taking this year because she loves learning the language and sees a future with it. “I love Spanish,” said Mitzel. “I love learning it, I love speaking it, and it is what I want to do in my future as my career.” 

   With Mitzel’s weighted 4.02 grade point average, Mitzel is considering Texas Tech, Arizona State or Texas State. Mitzel would like to major in Bilingual Elementary Education because she has always had a feeling she wants to do something with kids. 

   Although Mitzel will miss Sheridan and the people within it, she is looking forward to the new opportunities she will be able to pursue outside of Sheridan. “I’m mostly excited to leave Sheridan so that I can experience new things,” said Mitzel. Sullivan believes Mitzel will have a great future in whatever she decides to do because of how mature she is for her age and just who she is as a person. “She is really funny,” said Sullivan. “I think she is also really mature for her age. She deals with a lot of things that not a lot of kids have to deal with, and she deals with them on top of being a kid, and she has had to mature quickly because of that. You would never know it, but Gillian has a lot on her plate and handles it really well.” Even with Mitzel having a lot to deal with, she never fails in putting forth a full effort into things she loves, one of the most outstanding qualities about her.

   Because of Mitzel’s dedication to the activities she loves, she will have no problem pursuing whatever path she chooses. Mitzel will, without a doubt, have the ability to pursue whatever she wants because of her determination toward the things she cares about. 

   Mitzel is the daughter of Bobbie and Mike Mitzel.