Sumter's Next Generation, presented by SumterEDGE: Thomas Sumter graduate, Iris Festival Queen Donhauser encourages youth to bloom where you are

When Bayleigh Donhauser first moved to Sumter four years ago, she didn't know anyone. Her family had just relocated from Cairo, Egypt - one of three countries and five states she's called home. But as a "seasoned military child" - as her mom likes to call her - starting over wasn't new.

"Being a military kid always has its challenges. You're moving every two years, and you're constantly embedded in a community that's not your own and not having roots or family stability, so it's definitely challenging," Bayleigh shared. "But I always have the motto of not just try to survive in where you are, but thrive and really dig in, in every way possible. I've enjoyed being able to share my global perspective of my upbringing here with people who may have grown up in Sumter."

While some of her peers have roots in Sumter, Bayleigh's start was in Abilene, Texas, a town which she says has a "similar feel" to Sumter. The slow pace and close-knit community vibes would be missed as the Donhauser family lived among Cairo's population of 20 million. But four years ago, they would settle in Sumter, and despite the huge culture shift, she welcomed it with open arms.

Her first year in town, she immediately hit the ground running - figuratively and literally - finding ways to lead both inside and outside the classroom. At Thomas Sumter Academy, she would serve as student body president, president of the Anchor Club, an all-girls Christian community service organization, as National Honor Society president and represented TSA as a student leader and speaker for its Purple Star designation. On the terrain, she was part of the varsity track and field team and three-time state champion in the high jump, four-by-one track event and competitive cheerleading.

In the community, her participation in Ross McKenzie Emerging Leaders Program through TheLINK allowed her to serve as a junior board member of United Way of Sumter, Clarendon and Lee Counties. There, she explored civil service and philanthropy up close and personal and gained a deeper appreciation for the community and the folks who keep it up and running, sharing, "I was just very blessed to be able to do it." Bayleigh would juggle all these extracurriculars, even after being diagnosed with severe Crohn's disease last year.

"I'm just very passionate, and I just love serving my community and being involved," Bayleigh expressed. "I just have a huge passion for academics and athletics alike, so I don't feel it's as much work, as I just enjoy doing it and getting to make connections with people and being able explore these passions while I'm younger, and so as I go to college, I can home in and focus on what I want to pursue as an adult."

And in the early stages of adulthood, 18-year-old Bayleigh got the chance to experience representing her community as the 2025 Iris Festival Queen. In a town she said is "deeply rooted in tradition," to be a "symbolic member" of the community is a "great honor." In her graduation salutatorian speech, the overarching theme was to "bloom where you are planted." From the crowning to the walk across the stage, it all coincided and affirmed that where she was is where she's meant to be.

Which is why to begin the next chapter of her life, it only felt right to do it at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where she plans to major in political science and minor in pre-law and social thought, a study she delved into through witnessing governmental structures from near and far on her travels.

To her peers, who will face their fair share of challenges in the years ahead of them, she assured them that your gain is far greater than your loss when it comes to putting yourself out there.

"Just take the chance because you're only in high school once. You have nothing to lose if you don't make the team or you win that position, but you have everything to gain if you do. The experience of putting yourself out there is one that you will not regret, and your life and being in Sumter is such an opportunity, so don't let that go to waste."