Senior Spotlight: Senior embodies Flathead High School motto to ‘Rise Up, Be Brave’

Under the upturned brim of her signature bucket hat, Flathead High School senior Madison Geiger’s smile and bright eyes reflect her sunny disposition and excitement for graduation.  

During an interview at the high school, Geiger shared her aspirations to keep learning and exploring the world with the goal of supporting others in their journeys to wellness by pursuing a career in psychology.  

The 3.9 GPA student will attend the Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana, majoring in clinical psychology with the long-term goal of becoming the first in her family to earn a doctorate.  

To get a head start at college, Geiger took rigorous International Baccalaureate classes at Flathead and dual credit courses through Flathead Valley Community College. She said the move will allow her to skip introductory general education classes and save money. 

Interested in integrative approaches to mental and physical health, Geiger also wants to minor in nutritional science at the university.  

“I think that the mind and the body are very strongly connected,” Geiger said.    

Geiger took an interest in helping others as a child, recalling a kindergarten memory sitting under a tree at Peterson Elementary School when a classmate approached her with a problem.   

“I truly don’t know what it was — but I’d give them some advice, and then they’d come back,” she said, gaining a friend in the process.   

That tree came to symbolize her own growth. Each year, she and a friend would visit the elementary school and think about how far they’ve come.   

“My friend and I would sit on top of the rock, and we would literally just say, man, we’re about to start eighth grade, or we’re about to start high school, or our senior year,” she said.   

The high-achieving senior also shared her personal experience with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss, which has only strengthened her resilience, perseverance and empathy. She said it also factored into her decision to major in clinical psychology, coming from a place of understanding what it’s like to be stared at but not feel seen or heard.  

Since being diagnosed as a young child, when her hair began randomly falling out, Geiger has navigated the challenges of looking different, learning to balance self-consciousness with self-acceptance and a desire to be seen beyond her appearance.  

“I know what it looks like, or feels like, to be just looked at, and that kind of sucks. ... It kind of takes over in some ways,” she said.  

To temper stares out in public and the occasional stranger coming up to her parents expressing sympathy, assuming she had cancer, she started wearing custom-made hats, picking out fabrics across the color spectrum. Gray with a maroon underside has become her go-to color combination.   

This year, she made the decision to try not wearing her hat, emphasizing that she does not want the accessory — or hair — to define who she is as an individual, or as a girl. Yet, shedding one’s self-consciousness is an ongoing challenge for many people.  

“I went to work without it for the first time ever, and I mean, I had a bunch of people saying that suits you, or you’re rocking it ...” she said. “I was walking in — OK, I’m fine. I’m good. I’m good,” she said.  

Then, she felt the wind on her head, which she said reminded her of what she was about to do, but she pushed onward and made it through.  

"I wouldn’t say I’ve reached a point where I’m like it’s fine. It doesn’t matter. But I have moments where I’m like, I’m good. I, you know, love myself. And then I have moments where I’m like, ugh, you know,” Geiger said, adding that confidence building takes time. “Even if it’s slow movement — it's movement.”  

She also took a major step forward with her senior portraits. For one of the portraits, taken by photographer and Flathead business teacher Tina Barnes, Geiger wears a strappy sundress, accessorized with delicate jewelry and no hat. Barnes submitted the photo to "Senior Year Magazine," where it made the fall 2025 cover.  

"I’m trying to not wear it when I go to college because if someone were to like me, then they would have seen all of me,” she said.  

LIVING WITH alopecia and other conditions that can leave her exhausted, Geiger makes an effort to prioritize self-care and spending time with family and friends to balance her packed schedule of school, extracurriculars and multiple jobs, including as a barista and cleaning at Glacier Women’s Health and Wellness, a clinic owned by her mother Dena.  

One hobby that she does to combat stress is baking, especially the French meringue-based macaron, trying numerous flavors to perfect her skills.   

“They’re so particular with how you do it. If you have the temperature two degrees off, it messes up the whole thing. Or if you fold the batter wrong. And so, I made so, so, so many trying to perfect the perfect thing,” Geiger said.  

She picked up cooking and baking from her family’s passion for food and travel. Her father, Andrew, is a travel photographer.   

“When we travel ... the food takes us where we’re going,” Geiger said, smiling.  

This year, to celebrate her graduation and her sister’s graduation from the University of Montana, the family is headed to Croatia, her dad challenging them to choose a country he hadn’t been to yet. 

And as many countries as she has traveled to, one unforgettable trip was hiking Mount Aeneas at 3 a.m. to watch the sunrise with a friend.   

“You could see the Milky Way above you. It was so cool. We had a blanket, and I brought hot chocolate, and we’re like freezing, but it was so, so pretty,” Geiger said.    

“I feel like growing up in Montana, when you’re constantly staring at the mountains, like every single day. It’s just like you kind of want to aim for something big — like in a goal or a dream,” she added.  

The Class of 2026, made up of approximately 310 students, will graduate at 7 p.m. Friday. 

For Geiger, graduation will cap off four years packed with extracurriculars, including varsity speech and debate (competing in informative and memorized public address); National Honor Society; Rotary Club; Model United Nations; DECA, a business-centered organization; She-Ra Book Club, as a reading mentor to Peterson students; Highlander Track Club as volunteer coach; track and field (javelin); cross country and swim team.  

“We are so proud of the work Madison has poured in while at FHS, and believe she exhibits all of the best qualities that are represented by our school motto this year: Rise Up, Be Brave,” Flathead counselor Chelsea Cattalino said.  

Before Geiger sets off for college, she plans to visit the tree at Peterson Elementary once more. She is also looking forward to the traditional graduate walk-through at the elementary school with her fellow seniors, who also attended Peterson, dressed in cap and gown.  

“Everything is going to look really, really small, but it’s how I know I made it. I made it through,” she said.  

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 406-758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.

    A senior portrait of Flathead High School graduate Madison Geiger, taken by photographer and FHS business teacher, Tara Barnes, was selected as the cover of "Senior Year Magazine." The photo is a milestone for the Kalispell teen, who has alopecia. (Cover image courtesy of Senior Year Magazine)