Written by: Mikey Lysiak, Staff Writer
EMPATHY: Poly senior exudes empathy and expresses his Poly legacy.
There are few people today in our community willing to truly exude both empathy and leadership, and therefore when it is championed by one of Poly High School’s upcoming alumni, Ellis Bowman, it matters.
Soon after the pandemic and his sophomore year, Ellis started pursuing the first chance he could get during his junior year to start solidifying his legacy at Poly, beginning by cementing his passion for literature and writing slam poems. He believes that recognition is great, but according to Ellis, in slam poetry, “the awards don’t matter if you get enjoyment and care about your work regardless.”
Ellis needs no reassurance: now realizing his goal in life is to be a teacher, he is taking the correct paths to actively improve at mentoring and leadership. Ellis did not need to join Link Crew the following year, as he was already a good empath to his close friends. But now in charge of ten freshmen, he strives to push freshmen to realize their full potential in academics and career choices. Standing in the position of “being that kind of mentor, that person that others look up to because many people need that in their life” is essential for him. Alongside all of this, Ellis has been involved in honors and AP courses and has been accepted into multiple colleges whilst recommending his freshmen that he mentors to join higher education classes for themselves and their future.
For Ellis, it does not matter who is watching; all that is important is that “there is always someone who can be there for people, a good shoulder to lean on when needed, that’s my legacy.”