Thomas Jefferson

High School | Home of the Spartans

Making a Mark

Posted 04/30/2024 by Amelia Mendoza-Stancer

Campbell Mahoney enjoying the beautiful Colorado nature while also taking her senior photos. photo by Becca Mahoney

Campbell Mahoney works hard behind the scenes to help create a positive environment at Thomas Jefferson High School.

Campbell Mahoney is a vivacious senior at TJ who participates in various ways across the community. She is just one of the many students in Leadership who work behind the scenes in order to bring fun and memorable school events to life.

Mahoney is an extraordinary student who loves spending time with family and friends, athletics, and the TJ community. She lives at home with her mother, father, and younger brother who attends South High School. She plays volleyball for the TJ girls’ varsity team and year-round for a club. On top of that, she plays tennis throughout the spring and summer and is a member of the TJ girls’ varsity tennis team. Mahoney is also committed to Chapman University in Orange, California, for the 2024-2025 school year. She is still trying to decide whether she will pursue a major in Physical Therapy or Criminology with a minor in Journalism.

Mahoney is part of the leadership class at TJ which is run by assistant principal Jon Poole and counselor Erin Thompson. The leadership class helps create and plan events like pep rallies and spirit weeks for the school. A major project leadership worked on earlier this year was raising money for a sick child’s Make-A-Wish fund. Mahoney is very proud to help and be a part of the change that leadership makes at TJ. “It is the best way to positively impact the community and have a voice,” she explained. She also values the time and effort of not only the team but the entire community of students that keeps the TJ spirit high. “We all work so hard on community involvement,” Mahoney stated, while expressing how making sure that all students’ voices are heard is one of the larger impacts leadership has had on the TJ community. 

Mahoney has been a part of TJ’s Journalism and Newspaper classes for three years. She was an editor her junior year and is now editor-in-chief of the TJ Journal staff as a senior, which means that she oversees and edits everyone’s articles before they are published. Mahoney has enjoyed the freedom of being able to write articles about what she is passionate about instead of being forced to write essays on certain topics. “Getting to explore my passions and my voice through this class has been an amazing experience,” she said, emphasizing how having the freedom to write about what inspires her has pushed her to think about how she can make a difference through writing. On top of all of the lessons Mahoney has learned in newspaper class, her favorite part has been collaborating with other students and forming new friendships throughout the years.

Due to playing multiple sports, editing countless articles, planning events for school, and making sure she completes her homework, it is hard for Mahoney to find time for herself. However, no matter how hard it gets, Mahoney stays on top of her work and still finds ways to cherish the time she does have, whether that be spending time with friends, family, or even focusing on self care. Some of her favorite movies are The Pursuit of Happyness by Gabriele Muccino and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Mahoney’s favorite music genres are indie-pop/folk and her favorite artists are Gregory Alan Isakov and Adrienne Lenker. Outside of school, Mahoney also enjoys reading, painting/drawing, playing guitar, exploring the outdoors, and shopping.

Mahoney is one of the many students who have had a positive impact on the TJ community. Through her role as editor-in-chief for the TJ Journal and being a part of leadership, she has helped create an environment where students and staff can look forward to coming to school every day. While she will be missed when she graduates, she will certainly do great things in the future and be remembered for her impact on the Journalism pathway and the TJ community.