“The sun, of course, doesn’t care if we watch it or not. It will keep on being beautiful, even if no one bothers to look at it.” -Gene Amole

This very quote, one of Kendel’s favourites, in fact fits her own aura to a tee. Kendel Ponchock is one of those rare people in the world who offer a sense of grace and poise, yet, have a warm and comforting presence about them. She plays many roles (and not just in theatre) in her life from daughter to proud dog owner to student to currently Elle Woods in Mccracken’s musical “Legally Blonde”, and balances them all with giggles, a positive attitude, and a face mask or two.

Kendel is a busy bee with many things on her to do list. Aside from being Drama Club Vice President, she is an avid member of MCHS Theatre Department, currently Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the Musical She has been in a total of 7 shows at McCracken some past roles including Hermia in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Hodel in “Fiddler on the Roof”, Abigail Williams in “The Crucible”, Sour Kangaroo in “Seussical the Musical”, Alice Sycamore in “You Can’t Take in With You”, and ensemble member in “Footloose the Musical”. She is a writer on our very own Mustang Messenger and sings in Varsity Singers for our MCHS choir. She also had the honor of attending Kentucky Center Governor’s School for the Arts for the dramatic arts. Before theatre became her life, Kendel was a varsity cheerleader and was part of the National Championship winning team of 2013-2014. “Cheerleading taught me the value of teamwork and this concept directly applies to theatre. You work as an ensemble, you have to lift others first to lift yourself up.” She gives back at the local humane society and by serving the community at Swirl’s Frozen Yogurt.

Ambition and hard work has led to a future Kendel is very excited for her. In the fall, she will be attending Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia to pursue a major in the Performing Arts, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. When asked where she hopes to be in five years, she says “In five years I hope to be graduated from SCAD and on my way to a successful career in the performing arts. My only hope is that I am happy and doing something that I love. I would love to someday star in a movie or be on Broadway? Maybe own a theater. I’ll always be performing. Anything is possible if you can dream it.” To reach this point in her life, she has had many people guide her but one person who has assisted in getting her to this place is Mrs. Bowden, the drama teacher and director of the MCHS theatre program. “Mary Bowden has made such a huge impact on my life.  She has always believed in me, no matter what I’m doing. She welcomed me into the theatre department with open arms my freshman year and has continued to love and inspire me every day since then. She’s taught me that there is a solution to everything and anything you put your mind to can be done.  She’s someone who I know I will be friends with for the rest of my life!”

When she finds free time, Kendel spends her weekends in Historic Downtown Paducah. “I go to Etc. Coffee House with my friends a lot; it’s one of my favorite places to be. I love downtown Paducah. I’m definitely a homebody though, so I like to stay home with my family when I can.” Family is an important factor for many people, but for Kendel, she finds comfort in where and who she comes from and takes many lessons from these beginnings. “Actions speak louder than words. This is something that my mom has been telling me since before I can even remember. You can talk the talk all you want, but if you don’t walk the walk, nothing matters.” As high school wraps up, Kendel can certainly look back on her years and see many fond memories. To sum up her high school experience in a song, Kendel chose one from Funny Girl with these lyrics: Don’t tell me not to live

Just sit and putter, life’s candy and the sun’s, a ball of butter, Don’t bring around a cloud to rain on my parade.