Many students spend high school learning and experimenting with their passions, ultimately searching for a potential career path. Even outside of the classroom, clubs, sports and other extracurricular activities help students determine the course they would like to follow in life. The options may seem stressful and overwhelming, especially on top of classwork and expectation to know this pursuit by senior year. However, on top of finding her career goals, senior Anna McManus has involved herself in many school activities to explore her passion for leadership.

McManus has involved herself in many extracurricular activities, surpassing expectations in many ways. She served as Troy High School’s Class of 2023 Student President for three years, and as Vice President for one year. Along with her leadership duties, she played varsity lacrosse for three years. McManus also qualified for DECA Internationals twice, and is on the Executive Board for the Michigan Student Board of Delegates, which communicates directly with district representatives to provide feedback and new ideas for improving Michigan schools.

However, McManus chose an unconventional career path: comedy. 

“It was something that was always just easy for me to get into professionally,” McManus shared. “I really started writing when I was around fourteen and it came naturally to me almost, so it just made sense to continue it.” McManus plans to major in Comedy Writing and Performance at Columbia College Chicago.

Currently, she performs open mic comedy in Detroit, which is part of this career path choice. McManus said, “I love the community Detroit has,” McManus said. “[They were] very accepting to me when I first started, which was surprising, because a lot of the people are grown adults who have full time jobs and families. It almost seems like a teenager who has no clue what they’re doing doesn’t quite fit, but they were very accepting and they really want to see me continue [to] flourish in the industry.”