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Madison is pictured with her guitar.

Ask her friends what they love about TAHS senior Madison Yothers and they will tell you about her kind nature and compassion for others. They would probably also mention her outstanding academic, musical, and artistic talents. But above all, it is her strong dedication to her faith that has defined Yothers and molded her into the person she is today.

Yothers has been a member of Grace Baptist Church on Adams Avenue since she was a baby. As she grew up, she became involved with the praise team, youth group, youth choir, and Bible study.

While her faith and dedication to Jesus were strong when she was a young child, her faith really solidified in eighth grade. That year, Yothers remembers going to an event at her friend’s church. The pastor, who she had never met before, asked all the teens come forward so that he could pray over them individually.

“At first I was a bit skeptical that this could work, but when he got to me he stopped for a moment. Mind you, I have never met this guy before, but he told me something I had never told anyone other than God,” said Yothers. “He expressed that I was very insecure about who I was at the time physically, and he told me that God wants to tell you that you are beautiful for who you are. I immediately broke down in tears.”

It was at that point that Yothers relationship with God become stronger and more personal. 

“God knows what we go through and can overcome any struggle you have no matter how hopeless it may seem to you,” said Yothers. 

According to Yothers, as she has grown and gone through different seasons in life, her dedication and love for God continue to stretch and grow.

“My faith has allowed me to fall in love with God and know him, and his word. This changes everything I do with my life and lifestyle. Yes, I mess up, a lot, but it changes how I act, what I choose to do, my hobbies, wisdom, and what I say,” said Yothers. 

Yothers tries to let her faith guide her in whatever situation or hardship she encounters.

“Everything I do in life I do to bring glory to God’s name. He is my numero uno, he has been with me for every high and low and will never leave. By putting God above everything, I can see him in all things, he does things in my life that only an amazing God can do, everything in my life ends up working out perfectly even when at times it doesn’t make sense. He leads me through life so that I can experience, learn, and grow. He blesses me with amazing things as well.”

Her faith has also influenced what she has chosen to do after high school. In the fall, she will be attend Altoona Beauty School to study cosmetology and esthetics.

“I chose this because I have a passion to work with and encourage women. I want to make every woman feel beautiful for who she is and help women understand where their true beauty comes from, I have an Instagram page set up for this future career as well! @captivating_bea.u.ty,” said Yothers.

Yothers friends admire her character and how her commitment to her faith impacts every aspect of her life.

“Madison is one of the hardest working, honest, friendliest people I know,” said TAHS senior Grace LeGars, “She is always there for anyone and always puts others first, which is so admirable. She will go out of her way just to make someone smile, and she is the epitome of a Godly woman. She will do amazing things in the future.”

Yothers has also excelled academically in high school. She is currently ranked 27th in the class out of 127.

Never one to back down from a challenge, she began taking honors classes back in middle school, and has continued to challenge herself academically ever since. Instead of taking it easy her senior year, she took three dual enrollment classes, anatomy, statistics chemistry II. Not because she had to, but because she thought they were interesting and she enjoys pushing herself academically.

Yothers is also one the most musically talented students in her class. She has been playing the piano for eleven years, so she naturally she has worked to showcase her skills and eventually her voice too.

Yothers auditioned for POPS Extension, the TAHS singing group, and made it in eleventh grade. Since joining, she has gained confidence in both her singing and dancing. She has had solo parts with POPS, at county chorus, and at the Christmas Assembly.

In addition to singing and playing the piano, Yothers has also started learning to play the guitar. She even tried out for the TV talent show The Voice last season. While she didn’t make it on the show, it’s on her bucket list to try it again and hopefully make it further.

“Whether I’m playing the piano, guitar, or singing, it brings me home to who I am, it will always be part of who I am, it’s almost like an escape for me,” said Yothers, “I get so excited to come home some days and play and learn new techniques. The feeling I get on stage is indescribable, it’s one of the best feelings. Or singing a song that I can make my own with riffs and adding cool styles, it just makes me happy!” 

Madison’s hobbies also extend beyond music. She has taught herself how to embroider and has enjoyed decorating things like backpacks and clothing. She began embroidering after she discovered it in the summer on Pinterest and saw all the different varieties so she decided to give it a try. She explained that she loves to create and use her hands, and embroidering gave her another way to do that. She also enjoys drawing and art.

Another one of Yothers hobbies is weightlifting. She began lifting in tenth grade as a way to get fit.

“As some might recall I grew up on the heavier side and some people were not so nice about it. I decided I really wanted to change. Some of my friends were going to the weight room and I started going with them. Over time I found it fun and enjoyed seeing the progress it made for me,” said Yothers. 

Lifting is also a male-dominated sport, and Madison is a strong female representative in the weight room. Her best PR is 215 lb on squat. 

“Lifting is a lifestyle, it shows determination, it’s not just a physical challenge but mentally as well, believing you can do it and pushing yourself to get stronger,” said Yothers. 

Madison’s kind and friendly nature along with her full heart will undoubtedly take her far in life, and the most important lesson she has learned so far is that true beauty comes from the heart.

“The most important thing I have learned in my life is to know that our true beauty, male or female, comes from the heart. We all struggle physically with how we look in some way, but when we believe that who we are really is what matters, and know that we are beautiful for who we are, those insecurities are less prominent. Not to say physical appearance is not important, because it is, but remember no beauty shines brighter than a good heart,” said Yothers.