Imagine dressing exactly how you feel. Certain shades associated with certain moods populate your closet. Imagine being centered and grounded enough to know exactly how you are feeling, every single day. For most, it’s a fantasy, but for one sophomore at Summit High School, it’s her inspiring reality.
Jeevani Mangat is a sophomore who enjoys every day, and lives her life by cherishing every experience she has.
“She’s a bright spot on any day,” applauded Dave Turnbull, Summit’s track and field coach.
She is easy to recognize by her consistent smile and friendliness in the hallways. She is always holding the door open for her class and constantly spreading kindness.
“I have never seen her in a bad mood. She is always smiling and her positivity radiates onto other students,” explained School Resource Officer Dan Koehnke.
As a sophomore this year, Mangat is savoring every moment in her last year as an underclassman.
“I love being a sophomore!” exclaimed Mangat. “It’s kind of an advance towards adulthood but you still get to be a child.”
While she always appears happy, Mangat argues it’s more of a situational state.
“I’m not always happy,” she said. “Happiness is a temporary state of mind, but I am always grateful for the experiences that I have and the people I meet.”
Even throughout the often dreary halls of Summit, Mangat still glistens with positivity. Summit can get tiring, and students often fall into a rut, fatigued and overworked. But Mangat wants everyone to feel welcomed, loved and supported, and she’s doing just that.
“I want everyone to know that I love them for who they are and they will never be replaced,” she explained. “Someone will always notice them.”
Outside of the halls, Mangat runs track for Summit. She was inspired by Renee Skjersaa, her math teacher and track coach in middle school, who tragically passed away in an avalanche while skiing in early 2025.
“I was really bad at running, but she would run beside me, even when we did the pacer test in .E, and she made me really enjoy running,” recalled Mangat.
Despite this, Mangat usually scores last place in her meets, and it’s not because she is a bad runner.
“I like to get last place. Someone needs to get last and if nobody is going to take it, it will be my special place,” she said. “It takes the ego out of the experience and allows me to be in awe of other people, [to] not confuse my joy of them with my joy of doing well.”
Turnbull admires that “she always brings positive energy and literally cheers for everyone. It doesn’t matter what team they are on, you can find her cheering on athletes from any school.”
Arguably the most noticeable thing about Mangat, besides her outgoing personality and her support for everyone she sees, is her outfits. She usually dresses in very colorful clothes, like dresses with swirls or leggings with sparkles.
“I like to wear the color that matches how I feel,” Mangat explained. “I dress up on national holidays and for tests, but on days when I feel a bit low, I wear shades of blue. It eliminates the guessing so people will always know how I feel.”
Mangat is motivated to create a positive environment in school and the world. She wants everyone to know that they are supported, known and acknowledged by her. Her main hope is to live a small yet fulfilling life, which she hopes to do with a free psychology clinic she wants to open after college.
Our school is a place where everybody is going through something different, but students often tuck away their struggles to make it through the day. No matter what, it’s important to follow in the light that Mangat has lit for us, and above all else, to treat everyone with respect.
“Treat everyone for who they are, who they were and who they can be. Love and accept people. You are who you can be, not what you did,” Mangat reminds us.
