HELENA — The characteristics that make an athlete successful on the court often translate to other areas of life. And Helena Capital junior Madison Clement is a great example of just that.
Clement plays three varsity sports for the Bruins: volleyball, wrestling and track and field. But she’s also a region advisory council chair in the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force’s civilian auxiliary.
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“For Civil Air Patrol, for a really long time it was making sure I get my tests done on time,” Clement said of how she balances her time. “And I’m getting all the work I need to done for that, so I can excel at that career. And then that really paid off once I got into high school sports where it’s making sure that I’m at every practice possible, and I’m working on things in my off time, as well.”
After high school, Clement said she hopes to attend either the Air Force or Naval academy to study engineering — and ultimately continue a family legacy of military service.
“In Civil Air Patrol primarily, I come from a big military family,” Clement said. “And so this was something I was told was a possibility when I was like 5 (years old), and then I had to wait seven years to join. And it was kind of a cool path of something that I could see myself doing. And then I started it off, and it was one of my favorite things at the time, and I just kept going.”
And for as much as Clement has gained from Civil Air Patrol, she said she wouldn’t be where she is today without also having had the experience of playing high school sports.
“One thing I’ve worked on a lot is putting everything I can into sports,” said Clement. “And it’s one thing I really enjoy, which also means that a lot of my extracurriculars get a lot of that extra attention and trying to put everything I can into it. And I’ve definitely seen that pay off with that kind of work ethic.”
