Senior Ben Makovsky uses his strength in school and extracurricular activities to represent Thomas Jefferson in an exceptionally positive way.
Photo by Rebecca Holt
Senior Ben Makovsky is an AP scholar, Computer Magnet student, member of National Honor Society, an accomplished athlete, and has been named an Outstanding Senior in TJ’s Aristocrat Yearbook, so it is no surprise that he has been nominated for Student of the Week by TJ faculty.
Currently, Makovsky is working on an NHS project, wherein he visits with a senior citizen to help her out with tasks she has trouble with, and also to simply spend some time with her. At the end of this project he will write a biography on her and present it to her as a gift. “I’ve been in NHS since sophomore year. At first, I joined NHS because I wanted to be able to put it on a college application, but over the past couple years I discovered that I actually really liked to volunteer. And with this current project, I feel like I am making a real impact in this woman’s life,” said Makovsky.
Makovsky was also a participant in the school’s annual Mr. TJ competition and earned second runner up, so he is clearly well–liked throughout TJ. According to Ben, his athleticism from TJ sports throughout the year aided him in his talent performance at the show, which won the crowd over. “Flipping over five people is not something anyone can do, which is why, I think, I got as far as I did in Mr. TJ. I would say the fact that I am an athlete that practices jumping high and far all the time is what made me able to do my talent,” said Makovsky.
Makovsky runs cross-country and pole-vaults for the track team. “Even though I practice with the TJ track team, TJ doesn’t have pole vaulting equipment, so I have to go to Boulder to practice that. They have really good coaches up there that help push me really hard,” said Makovsky.
Ben’s teammate from the track team, Jared Lewis, said, “It has been an honor to have Ben as a teammate. He is a multifaceted athlete and has done great things for the team.”
Not only does Ben participate in sports here at TJ, but he has also has competed in various snowboarding competitions. He is a talented park rider and hopes to keep snowboarding as a hobby long in the future.
Ben has an older brother, Sam who goes to college at CU Boulder. “We get along really well; he challenges me a lot with athletics because we’re just really competitive like that,” said Makovsky.
Although Makovsky has a passion for his sports, his true interest that he wants to carry with him in the future are the skills he has learned from being in the Computer Magnet program. He plans to attend Colorado State University in Fort Collins next year and wants to go into either video production or TV broadcasting. Ben feels that his training from his Radio and TV Broadcasting and Video Intern classes really boosted his confidence for when he goes on to college. He stated, “Spamp [Teacher, Matt Spampinato] has really taught me a lot about video production and I feel like because of everything I have learned, I will be ahead of the game at CSU. Being in Computer Magnet is a really good way to learn computer skills when it comes to any kind of media.”
“Ben is one of those rare talents. He sits down in front of the computer and can instantly make magic happen. He understands the way video works: he is ready to take it to the next level,” said Video Intern Teacher, Matt Spampinato. Clearly Ben has an enormous amount of support from his peers, teachers, and families to do great things with his life.
