Claire Michnowicz describes herself with three words: creative, driven, and silly. Silly being the most important one, it came up in each of the seven interviews with her friends. Every single time they were asked to expound on that one word, an inside joke followed. Whether it was about Minions and car decorating, the song “Never Ending Story” in Stranger Things, Fred the mutated gummy worm, or wandering dogs in the Enloe parking lot, there was always a silly story to tell about Claire.
Claire is an executive in Enloe’s a cappella group, Crescenloe, and the amount of work she puts in is astronomical. Not only does she help lead all the singers, directing them with a stern ‘HELLO CRESCENLOE,’ but she also arranges all of the pieces of music they sing alongside her other executives, Kennedy and Brandon. Recently, her hard work paid off tremendously as she and her fellow executives won best arrangement for their pieces “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” & “Wildflower” in the ICHSA, the international competition of high school a cappella. Alongside that, the group won second place in the competition! Ironically, Claire had never done chorus or anything vocal before her freshman year of high school, when she was randomly placed into beginners’ chorus and decided to stick with it, quickly finding her voice as an alto in the choral community. However, she wasn’t new to reading music. A fun fact not many know is that Claire played the trombone for eight years before joining chorus!
What makes Claire such a helpful person in Crescenloe is her balance between being a friend and a leader; she guides people and uses jokes to keep the group lighthearted. One of the things most admirable about Claire is how she gives her everything to what she’s passionate about. Jadon Wooten, a sophomore in Crescenloe, said one of the biggest things he admires about Claire is her ability to direct a room, “I can definitely [see] a lot of [her] leadership skills because she’s very good at grabbing attention; she’s great at pulling focus and making sure that we’re all attentive and ready for everything.”
On top of molding Claire’s knack for initiative, Crescenloe has given her more than her voice. Claire met some of her best friends through the group, Violet Moore, Kennedy Pope, and Nic Sanchez. Claire didn’t meet all of her friends in Crescenloe; however, Crescenloe allowed her to grow even closer to those she already knew. One of Claire’s most shining qualities is her ability to be a positive force in everyone’s lives. When asked something he cherishes about Claire, Nic said, “I’ve never felt like she dims herself or changes who she is to appease other people. She’s just so honest and herself, and I wish I could be like that.” To the same question, Kennedy immediately described her as, “the perfect 50-50 of everything, she’s outgoing but introverted. I can talk to her about funny things and serious things. And she knows how to lock in and how to get stuff done.”
Claire builds people up just by being herself. One of the most highly regarded memories Kennedy had of her was in a hotel room, doing karaoke, when Claire used the remote as a microphone. Another memory Violet shared was the blackout football game; it was one of the many nights they spent in her car getting food and then having a sleepover. “Claire and I, this year especially, got on a kick of driving everywhere together, doing everything together.” Another friend, Emma Sluder, recollected a time with Claire. “I really enjoyed [it] when [she] and I went and saw James Taylor in concert, and we danced around on the lawn. It was a lot of fun because she loves a good concert.” One of the most important facts about Claire that her friends Emma and Mars Mathers brought to light is her ability to find a guitar anywhere. “Yeah, I didn’t even know I had a guitar at my house, man,” Emma said, still confused at Claire’s strange ability despite knowing her for so long.
Her friends are a big part of her life, of course, but one of Claire’s biggest inspirations is her very own mother. Claire said, “She’s just such a strong woman. And she is the most motivated person I know. She’s always been by my side to encourage me to do things, and make sure that I know that my parents are proud of me for doing all these things.”
When Claire’s friends were asked what her biggest impact on them was, they all had a very similar answer. To speak for all of them, Violet Moore said, “She has made me realize that it’s important not to take things too seriously. Things will always work out as long as you are having fun and treating yourself right. That’s all that matters. You don’t have to stress really badly about something, nothing is really that serious.” Claire’s presence, her positivity, shines through negative times and brings her friends so much joy.
One of Claire’s best lines while she was talking about Crescenloe was, “I want to be remembered for being passionate. I want to be where the group wants to be, and have fun when we’re doing it.” Claire is definitely going to be remembered the way she wants with the way her friends describe her. Violet added, “She genuinely lights up a room, [Claire] just has that effect.” With a passion for singing, being with her community, and finding guitars in random places, Claire Michnowicz will leave us this year with one goal in mind. Stay happy, ambitious, and easygoing; furthermore, enjoy high school while you’re here because I can tell you she sure is.
