FSLM Student Profile for February 2026
By Abigail Gold

Finding a specific passion can be hard to do, but it hasn’t been a problem for 9th grader Madison Franklin. Madison has been involved in dance since she was 3 years old, and she doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. She’s working hard as a Pleasant Grove Showstopper and colorguard performer to keep growing her skills.

“Dance has always been my happy place,” Madison said. “When I’m not doing anything else, I watch my dance videos and see what all I need to work on.” It takes a lot of self-discipline to work on improving a skill when it would be easier to relax. Refining a dance takes a lot of work and close examination of moves that are hard to perform. It takes a great amount of mental strength to focus on things that feel difficult, so it’s impressive that Madison is happy to confront the challenge head-on. Her commitment to bettering her craft is truly admirable.

Madison has also taken on the challenge of being in the colorguard, which involves learning other difficult skills. “It was something I always wanted to try,” Madison said, so she worked with her directors at Pleasant Grove to make it happen.

“During the summer, the drill team, colorguard, and band directors got together and worked out a schedule for me to be able to do both [drill team and colorguard],” she explained. “I am extremely grateful for them because, without them, I would not have been able to do any of this.”

While the directors make it possible for Madison to pursue both activities, it is still up to her to develop and maintain the required skills. With a self-imposed schedule in addition to the practice time allotted for both activities, Madison had been able to thrive.

Madison is motivated to spend so much time on her extracurricular activities because of the community she finds within them. “The Showstopper environment is very positive, hardworking, and very fun, and our director is a very awesome and understanding person,” Madison explained. For her, being surrounded by positivity and people who want to see others succeed is what makes extracurricular activities worth doing. “The environment for colorguard is very bonded, and we are all like siblings because of all the time we have spent together, such as the early-morning band practice, guard camp, and guard practices and sectionals,” she added.

Through spending so much time with the colorguard, it has been possible for Madison to meet people who are great mentors. Extracurriculars offer the unique opportunity to learn from peers, which can create strong bonds and lasting memories. “Alea Angell, my junior lieutenant in colorguard, lets me come to her in the band hall and teaches me how to do very cool tricks on sabre,” Madison said. She is grateful to have found two wonderful groups of people who will undoubtedly make the rest of her high school years even more fun.

Of course, a big factor in the extracurricular communities is the school they are part of. According to Madison, Pleasant Grove High School fosters the communities she has come to enjoy in colorguard and as a Showstopper. “Pleasant Grove is an awesome place with an awesome staff, who always put the students first,” Madison said. Her colorguard director, Hanna Prine, and drill team director, Brooklynn Bearden, worked together to make Madison’s schedule possible, even though they didn’t have to. It’s clear that Madison values the work that the Pleasant Grove staff puts in, which spreads the positivity around.

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Meet Madison Franklin