From On Campus at MHS To Being Involved Within the Community, You Can Always Count on Kylie Anderson

By CAITLYN MELITE 
The Tower 

Anderson takes the field as a fire baton twirler for the first game of the season.  Credit: Raclif Figueroa

MANTECA – Kylie Anderson struts onto the football field at Lathrop High with the eyes of Manteca High upon her. It’s Homecoming Night and the stands are packed, and a crowd lines the fence on the home sideline.  

Anderson clutches two batons as she makes her way to midfield. In the very next moment, her batons are on fire and she’s twirling and tossing them into the air with a smile on her face.  

A member of the Class of 2026, Anderson is a well-known student at Manteca High. She is currently Miss Manteca for the Manteca Royal Family, ASB President, and one of the only two baton twirlers on campus. Since she was younger, she has been baton twirling alongside her younger sister, Katie. Since last year, the two Anderson sisters have been the first and only baton twirlers in Manteca High history. 

“Honestly, being so involved has become my personal life,” she said. “It's part of who I am, and it has been so integral to my character, and my personality, and it’s what I enjoy doing.” 

Anderson is very active within the community and a great role model for her fellow students. After being supported by both the City of Manteca and Kaiser during an extremely tough time, she wishes to give back to the community as much as she can.  

At just 7 years old, Anderson began losing her hearing and Kaiser was there every step of the way. She explained that when doctors realized what was going on, she was able to attend a summer camp for Rite Care speech Forthology at University of Pacific. This life-changing program has amazing student clinicians who educated her about cochlear implants, sign language, lip reading, etc. Anderson emphasized on explain the way she quickly realized these were essential skills for when she lost her hearing.  

Because of this education process, when she officially lost her hearing, she was able to fast forward through the process of waiting on a long list of implant candidates. She was able to have surgery scheduled within just three days of losing her hearing.  

Anderson wishes to thank Rite Care and Kaiser for their help through this difficult process.  

She has been involved within the community since the summer of her 8th grade year, when she first signed up for MHS Leadership. Anderson is currently a senior and excited for the near future. Although her time at MHS is coming to an end, it doesn’t stop here. She looks forward to continuing baton twirling in a new setting and competing in more advanced pageants. 

Student Activities advisor Stephanie Hjelmstad described the way Anderson has been involved in all kinds of different events on and off campus.  

“You name it, Kylie has had a hand in every single activity that we have done in the last couple of years.” Hjelmstad enthusiastically explained   

She explained that Anderson has been involved in over 60 different activities as a leadership student. She gave some examples of activities such as: Wellness Week, rallies, homecoming royalty, and Teacher Appreciation Week, adding that she even ran Back to School Night! 

The Tower caught up with Kylie Anderson to discuss her role at MHS as well as in the community and the way she impacts her community. 

The Tower: How did you first begin being involved in extracurricular activities within Manteca High and its community.  

Kylie Anderson: Since Woodward is a feeder school, I got to join Health Occupations Students of America in eighth grade and started getting involved that summer. That led me to apply for Leadership, become class vice president, and more, with support from mentors like Mrs. Hjelmstad and Mrs. Behler. 

TT: What inspires you to be so involved within the community? 

KA: I've gone through some really hard times where the city of Manteca, both in Kaiser here and other organizations in our city have helped me through it and I've always wanted to give back to them. I love all the people in our community and seeing and meeting everyone is incredible to me. 

TT: How do you balance being so involved while still attending school and having a personal life? 

KA: Honestly, being involved is just part of who I am, and I love doing it. Balancing it with school can be hard, especially with all my AP and medical classes, but groups like HOSA and Manteca Youth Focus really help with tutoring and support. Their biggest priority is to help me keep my GPA up while being involved. 

TT: Have you learned anything being so involved that will help you in your future? 

KA: Honestly, the best saying that I've ever learned is you're never too cool. Just take every opportunity you can and enjoy it thoroughly. I think that's the most critical lesson that will help me in college and other organizations during adulthood. 

TT: Do you hope to continue being involved in anything beyond high school? 

KA: I do hope to continue baton twirling out of high school and doing pageants, whether that be for a team or a feature twirling. I'm definitely planning on advancing in pageants and doing state and national level pageants.