BROOKINGS – Brookings High School graduate Marah Dobrenski leads an active life of helping others, whether through coaching, work as a lifeguard or through volunteer work.
But soon enough, she’ll be helping people keep their smiles full and bright as a dental assistant after her time at Lake Area Technical Institute.
Brookings born and raised, Dobrenski has dedicated a lot of her life to gymnastics, first as a gymnast herself, and during the summer for the last four years, as a coach. She started at Gold Medal Gymnastics when she was 3 years old and competed there until the sixth grade.
“My mom had a friend who had a little girl going into gymnastics, and we went there for a birthday party. After that, I kept asking my mom when I could go back in the foam pit and after asking for I don’t know how long, my parents signed me up for a gymnastics class and after that, I just fell in love with it,” Dobrenski said.
And since then, both of her younger sisters have given it a try, though her youngest sister has continued to pursue gymnastics. The two of them even got to participate together in high school gymnastics at the state meet this year.
“We have a little rivalry, but for the most part, we have our specialties for which events that we do. But for the most part, being in the gym together we’re pretty supportive and help each other along with our specialties. It’s pretty nice,” she said.
As a club gymnast, she’s gotten to attend state meet multiple times and received a third-place title in high school gymnastics this year. She plans to continue coaching at Gold Medal Gymnastics this summer, as well as work as a lifeguard, as she’s done for three years now.
At school, she’s enjoyed some of the volunteer work done as a member of the National Honor Society. In particular, she enjoyed volunteering for the Brookings Marathon, painting houses and Children’s Museum of South Dakota.
She’s a member of student council, and as a senior, there’s been plenty of work and responsibilities, such as planning events like dances and pep rallies.
But besides these activities and hobbies, there’s another passion of hers that she plans to make her career: teeth. This fall, Dobrenski plans to attend Lake Area Tech’s dental assistance program.
From a young age, loose teeth fascinated her.
She recalled back when her mother used to do daycare that some of the children would get a loose tooth.
“They would come to my mom, and she would kind of wiggle them and the kids would be like, ‘Pull it out.’ I would always like to be around for that and seeing their teeth was exciting for me as a little girl,” she said.
This pathway seems preordained in a sense, as confirmed by an old letter she recently got to read. At the senior breakfast held last Monday, the seniors got to open letters from a time capsule they all had made for themselves back in the seventh grade. In Dobrenski’s was a letter from her mother, which mentioned that “You continue to tell me that you want to be a dentist or orthodontist.”
It was neat to read that now that she’s decided on what to do for college, and it was reassuring, too.
“After I graduate college, I would like to stick around here for a couple of years. Stay local and do some work at a dentist office as a dental assistant,” Dobrenski said.
There is some nervousness about starting college, “but it’s good nerves.” And there’s certainly excitement about the new life, new setting, new faces and learning about what she loves. She’ll still be in the area, though, because she plans on commuting. That way, she can more easily keep up on her sisters’ events.
To future graduates, she advised, “Talk with people who know you best and don’t feel rushed. You’ll kind of feel a little calling or maybe the time is what is pushing you to get there. If you don’t feel ready, don’t feel rushed. You’re at such a young age that you have a lot of time to decide. Things may change. Stay true to who you are.”
Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.
Courtesy photo: Marah Dobrenski, who graduated from Brookings High School on Sunday, plans to study at Lake Area Technical Institute to become a dental assistant.
