A former basketball player and also previously the youngest individual to be elected as mayor of Findlay, Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik encouraged a record number of Logan County high school seniors being recognized at the 46th annual Rotary Honors Night to not let fear keep them from “doing your thing and taking your shot.”
“When you take your shot, do it with your whole heart and never look back,” she said at the Monday evening, March 20, program at the Bellefontaine High School auditorium.
The 233 seniors from each of the high schools in the county — Bellefontaine, Benjamin Logan, Calvary Christian, Indian Lake, Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, Riverside and West Liberty-Salem — were honored by the Bellefontaine Rotary Club for maintaining a 3.5 GPA or higher during their entire high school careers.
Mihalik, who was appointed to her role by Gov. Mike DeWine in 2019, leads the state agency that is committed to empowering communities to succeed by investing in the people, places and businesses of Ohio. Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler invited her to speak at the event, and Stahler said he heard back from the state director within minutes with a resounding, “yes.”
While she grew up in Indiana, Mihalik completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Findlay, where she also played basketball.
Through an internship she completed during that time, she said she also fell in love with “the impact that local government can have on people’s lives.”
“I got the bug for leadership. I felt like my community needed more, and then I decided to step up and run for mayor of Findlay.”
Mihalik related that she had no political experience at the time of her 2011 run for mayor, and was just 28 years old.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I had doubts. But I wasn’t afraid. I was elected as the youngest and the first woman mayor of Findlay.”
After pupils graduate in the upcoming months this spring, the Ohio Director of Development encouraged them to face challenges head-on, even when they seem monumentally difficult.
“If you’re asking yourself, ‘Can I do this?’ The answer is yes. I urge you to keep fighting toward pursuing your dreams.
“Speak up and participate in your community. The voice of your generation is so vitally important.”
The state director also congratulated each of the pupils on a job well done.
“We’re all here tonight because of your hard work. You should all be so proud of how far you’ve come,” she said. “You’re our future. There’s a feeling of pride in the auditorium.”
During the announcement of Rotary Club scholarship recipients, Stahler also noted that this year, the club received a record number of applications, 86 in total.
Scholarships totaling $1,000 each were awarded to eight students: Creek Wischmeyer, Brittany Austin and Jaelyn Hughes, all Indian Lake High School students; Alaina Snow, Riverside High School; Lucas McKenrick, Benjamin Logan High School; Gabe Foreman and Jordan Butler, Bellefontaine High School students; and John Buckalew, Ohio Hi-Point Career Center.