The Minnesota Council for the Social Studies has announced that Salk’s Ron Hustvedt is their 2015 middle school teacher of the year!

Ron Hustvedt attended the gala with his mother, Ginger Hustvedt, a retired teacher from Minneapolis.

Each year, Minnesota Council for the Social Studies honors three teachers of the year at its annual gala event. These three teachers, representing elementary, middle and high school, are nominated by colleagues, supervisors, parents and students. They exemplify the best of social studies teaching in Minnesota.

Nominated teachers submit supplementary materials, including a resume, two letters of recommendation, a personal statement regarding teaching philosophy, and a lesson plan.

Hustvedt attended the gala with his mother, Ginger Hustvedt, a retired teacher from Minneapolis.

• District 728 calendar will include six-day break at Easter

by Jim Boyle

Editor

In the eyes of some parents and schoolchildren, spring break took a vacation in recent years from Elk River Area School District school calendars.

The 2015-16 school calendar, however, will include a six-day stretch, including the Easter holiday on March 27, 2016, for a more sizeable break in the action of education.

“We certainly get a lot of emails and phone calls,” said Shane Steinbrecher, a member of the Elk River Area School Board who sat on this year’s calendar committee.

The Elk River Area School Board approved the 2015-16 calendar at a specially scheduled meeting of the board on Monday, March 16, once the district canceled its March 23 business meeting as most of members of the board will be attending a 75th Annual National School Boards Association Conference March 21-23 in Nashville.

“The committee used some creativity in this year’s calendar,” School Board Member Sue Farber said.

Steinbrecher said with Labor Day being so late this year (Sept. 7), the committee scheduled three staff development or workshop days before the start of the school year.

The first day of school will be on Sept. 8.

Elementary and secondary schedules will be more aligned next school year. Steinbrecher said trying to mesh schedules with trimesters, semesters and quarters and to have the same days off at once is not easy, but the committee did as much as they felt the could. He said the calendar committee managed to trim the number of the days that elementary and secondary school don’t coincide from eight to four.

Spring break was another area of focus for the committee.

This year’s break runs from Friday, April 3, through Monday, April 6, which at four days in length is shorter than many surrounding districts.

Spring break next year students in the Elk River Area School District will start on Wednesday, March 23, 2015, and run through Monday, March 28. School will resume on Tuesday, March 29 after a six-day break.

“Personally, I’m extremely pleased to see these changes,” Farber said.  “I hope making a spring break longer was an answer to the many families who have been asking for one for years.”

The last day of school for the next school calendar year will be June 7, 2016, with emergency make-up days planned for June 8 and 9.

Elementary students will be scheduled for 170 days. Secondary students will be scheduled to attend school for 172 days. Teachers will be scheduled for 190. They will have five workshop days, five staff development days, one comp day and conference days.

• Elk River club recognizes girl for  academic achievement

Student: Emily Mattingley

Parents: Michael and Melissa

List the activities you have participated in and tell of your proudest accomplishments. 

I participate in Elk River High School’s drama program and the choir program. For the drama program, my proudest moment was performing with my fellow cast mates for both the home performance and subsections performance for this year’s competition one-acts.

Emily Mattingley

What is your favorite class and why? What is your favorite subject?

Currently, my favorite class is choir. I love singing and we sing almost non-stop for a whole period. For favorite academic subject, I enjoy all of them, but English is my favorite.

What are your future plans? 

I’m still trying to figure out what exactly I’m going to do, but I definitely see myself attending a four-year college.

 What are your hobbies and/or personal interests? 

Besides the drama program and choir, I also write a lot — short stories, poems and such. I also play guitar and read a lot.

Tell of a most memorable experience that relates to school, personal interests or a hobby.

Very recently, the choir program took a trip to Chicago and got the opportunity to do a workshop at a university.

How do you demonstrate leadership? 

I just try to help others when I can, like with math homework or finding classes. I also try to be encouraging and positive most of the time to my classmates.

How do you approach academics to achieve success? 

I just pay attention in class, do my homework and study. Sometimes I’ll ask questions if I don’t understand a concept, but that’s really it.

What special projects have you done, in or out of school? 

Outside of drama, I don’t do many special projects outside of school. Inside of school I’m in a clay class, so I’ve been making porcelain and stoneware ceramics, if that counts.

Why do you think you won this award? 

I think I got this award because of my grade point average and my involvement with drama and choir.

What does it mean to you?  

It’s very humbling; I’m honored to be receiving this award.

by Jim Boyle

Editor

Jordan Haack set his sights on a top-three finish in the state math bowl, but shot right past that en route to two state championship titles March 9 at South St. Paul High School.

Submitted photo
State champion mathematician Jordan Haack.

He won both the individual championship and the title of overall champ when the scores of both the state tournament contests and the rest of the year were combined.

“I didn’t expect to win,” Haack told the Star News. “These things are prone to huge ties. Somehow, I got ahead of that.”

Haack’s next closest finishers ended up in a three-way tie for second place in both tournament totals and grand totals for the year.

The Elk River math team finished 12th at state and 15th overall for the year.

Haack, an Elk River High School senior and National Merit Scholar semifinalist, has shifted to his last year of varsity tennis on a team that finished fourth in state last year. By the end of April he and several other classmates will face off Moody’s Mega Math Challenge, an annual applied math contest that gives participants the opportunity to use mathematical modeling to come up with solutions to relevant everyday issues. Haack’s team is one of six finalists that will compete Monday, April 27, in the final phase of judging at Moody’s Corporation headquarters in Manhattan, where they will present their findings to a panel of professional applied mathematician judges to determine the final rank order. (More on that will follow in a future edition of the Star News.)

The all-conference tennis player held the No. 4 singles slot and finished 31-6 on the year. This year he is a captain on the team.

Left to right: Haley Yoder, Mary Stoutenburg, Hunter Gulbranson, Jordan Haack, Joe Evans, Brianna Gerold, Emily Sederstrom, Alex Christensen and Curt Michener.

He has missed a few early season practices for math bowls, something his tennis coach might find aggravating but did not phase Haack.

“Tennis is good, but it’s not my future,” he said.

Haack, the son of physical therapists Dan and Laura Haack, is waiting to find out how he fares on college applications to Ivy League schools.

“I’m not so convinced that’s going to happen now, but I will find out in the next two weeks or so (where he’s been accepted),” he said.

Haack, 17, envisions pursuing math in college, which will give him an array of career fields to choose from, ranging from college professor to an actuary.

The contender for valedictorian at Elk River High School realized his potential as a mathematician in the ninth grade under the tutelage of Elk River High School math team adviser Curt Michener.

“I have a lot to thank him for,” Haack said of Michener.
“He got me started. He taught me all the tricks.”

The math league exists to identify students with unusual mathematical ability, to give them recognition and encouragement, to bring them together with similar students for mutual challenge and to expose them to the study of topics not commonly taught in the high school curriculum.

It often takes some coaxing to get kids on math teams, but Elk River has developed a strong program, and members, like Haack, seem to get hooked and stay.

By his sophomore year, the star of the Elks team was ready to step up his efforts and took to using study halls and Sunday evenings before math contests to complete practice tests.

Don’t be confused by Haack’s choice of study hall for a class period. He earned the room in his schedule by taking a full complement of University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program courses, which are part of an accelerated program for students who are highly talented in mathematics. He earned honors level college credit and advanced through it to Calculus III. He finished the university program this past year and knuckled down even more this season on math league as a top-three finish came into his consciousness.

“I really wanted it,” he said. “So I put my head down and went for it.”

Michener said becoming a state champion requires hard work and dedication to outperform incredibly gifted students, he said.

“I never met anybody who wanted to work that hard for something,” Michener said. “Just working with him caused me to be a better person myself.”

Haack won the first round, an invitational contest featuring the top high school mathematicians in the state, by an amazing two-point margin.

The only setback of the state meet would come on a speed round, featuring the top 10 finishers from the opening round. This was done on a stage in front of an audience. Each contestant was given eight problems and a short amount of time to answer each of them. Haack got the first seven right, tied for first, and on the last question, he missed.

He rallied, however, to get perfect scores on the final two tests that were partly for the team portion of the tournament.

Haack and his teammates, who were making the school’s fifth consecutive appearance at state, finished near the top third overall out of 39 teams that were invited to compete.

“That was lower than the ninth-place finish (of 170 teams) during the regular season, but still a very solid effort,” Michener said.

Members of the team included Haack, Bri Gerold, Hunter Gulbranson, Emily Sederstrom, Alex Christensen, Joe Evans, Haley Yoder and Mary Stoutenberg.

Elk River High School is a semi-finalist in a shoe design contest that will award $50,000 to the winning school’s art program.

These are the four pairs of Vans shoes designed by Elk River students.

Vans Custom Culture, a high school competition that encourages students to use their artistic talent to design their own pair of Vans shoes, is now opening its next phase of the competition: public voting. Through May 11, the public can go online to help narrow down 50 semi-finalists —including Elk River High School — to the top five contenders competing for $50,000 for their school’s art program.

Students, parents, teachers and friends can log onto www.vans.com/customculture and vote for their favorite designs.

The five finalists will head to New York City in June for the final event, where a panel of celebrity judges will determine the grand prize winner of the $50,000 donation.

More than 2,530 U.S. high schools participated in the competition this year, the most in the Custom Culture’s six-year history.

As part of the competition, each participating school created four designs to represent the Vans “Off the Wall” lifestyle using Vans shoes as their canvases. Utilizing various artistic mediums to showcase their work, students crafted their submissions by pulling inspiration from action sports, art, music and each school’s own “local flavor.”

The four shoes designed by Elk River students will be on display at An Evening of the Arts, which runs from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, April 30, at Elk River High School, 900 School St.

This “local flavor” shoe was designed by the 2014 contest winner.

To celebrate the public voting phase of the 2015 competition, Vans has released the “local flavor” colorway that was designed by the 2014 winner, Rio Rancho High School. Originally drawn and painted by hand, the artwork includes an intricate geometric pattern on the toe vamp and a scenic desert landscape throughout the quarter panel. At the heel, a UFO is discretely placed in the clouds as a reference to New Mexico’s history of extraterrestrial encounters and a “mile 66” road sign positioned on the ground that alludes to Vans’ birth year, 1966.

Proceeds from the shoe will go to non-profit partner Americans for the Arts to support the organization as they advance arts education.

Submitted photos
Lynn Eggert, Colleen Kill, Vicki Cornelius, Sallie G. Benson, Susan E. Sacquitne and Andrea K. Zwirner posed for a picture after the ceremony. Five of these six women are retiring this school year.

by Jim Boyle

Editor

The Elk River Area School District recognized 40 retirees at a May 18 ceremony at Hassan Elementary School.

Elk River Area School Board Chairwoman Jane Bunting and Superintendent Mark Bezek welcomed them to the event and handed out recognition certificates.

Among the retirees honored was curriculum specialist Stephen Schroeder-Davis, who logged more than 40 years of service with the Elk River Area School District.

Bezek noted at the ceremony that a lot has changed in 40-plus years. He said Schroeder-Davis started around the time Gerald Ford became president, having replaced Richard Nixon after Watergate. The Vietnam War ended. Bill Gates and Paul Allen developed a BASIC program for the Altair 8800, a computer that was released later that year. Motorola patented the first mobile phone.

Superintendent Mark Bezek handed a certificate to Roman Pierskalla, who is retiring after 10 years as the principal of Rogers High School.

“A new house cost $48,000, a gallon of gas was 57 cents, a stamp cost 10 cents and the average household income was $14,000,” Bezek said.

Eight people honored have 30 or more years of service to the school district. There were another 19 retirees were honored for more than 20 years of service.

“All of you, regardless of the title you held, have changed lives,” Bezek said. “You have educated, inspired and empowered thousands of young people, and they are in the world today doing important jobs, raising families of their own and living lives of purpose and joy due, in some measure, to you and your efforts. Take that to heart and know that you mattered.”

Teachers, custodians, other staff and a principal retiring

Mary E. Alberts, teacher and districtwide curriculum specialist

Sallie G. Benson, teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students districtwide, 24 years

Maureen K. Berry, special education teacher for children with specific learning disabilities at Lincoln Elementary School, 11 years

Kathleen Blesener, screening interviewer for District 728 Community Education, 24 years

Lawrence J. Bodnar, custodian at Ivan Sand Community High School and Elk River High School, 16 years

Patricia K. Clear, special education assistant, Handke Center, 20 years

Diane L. Daluge, head cook, Lincoln Elementary School, 32 years

Randolph J. Doesken, math teacher,  Elk River High School, 23 years

Nettie M. DuBois, health services secretary, Twin Lakes Elementary School, 11 years

Lynn M. Eggert, technology assistant, Rogers High School, 24 years

Larry I. Fehr, custodian, Rogers High School, 21 years

Carol J. Grabow, teacher of emotionally and behaviorally disturbed, VandenBerge Middle School, 16 years

Patti J. Granning, instructional assistant, Otsego Elementary School, 11 years

Lea Iverson, math teacher, VandenBerge Middle School, 37 years

Susan J. Kelly, health services secretary, clerk, Salk Middle School, 19 years

Colleen M. Kill, media assistant, Rogers High School, 22 years

Deborah A. Koch, secretary, Zimmerman Elementary School, 22 years

Elaine M. Koenig, cook, Lincoln Elementary School, 26 years

Nancy J. Kurtzman, teacher and evaluator, Meadowvale Elementary School, VandenBerge Middle School, six years

Carol J. Lamont, custodian, Elk River High School, 14 years

Lucy C. Markfort, teacher of children with specific learning disabilities, Rogers High School, 34 years

Karan L. Murschel, food service, Zimmerman Elementary School, 23 years

Patricia L. Nypower, teacher of children with physical, health disabilities, 10 years

Dorothy E. Onstad, fifth-grade teacher, Westwood Elementary, 20 years

Deborah H. Pace, third-grader teacher, Hassan Elementary School, 28 years

Roman J. Pierskalla, principal, Rogers High School, 10 years

Linda J. Potter, general assistant for Early Childhood Family Education, Handke Center, 27 years

Vicki M. Roberts, third-grade teacher, Hassan Elementary School, 34 years

Susan E. Sacquitne, third-grade teacher, Rogers Elementary School, 28 years

Stephen J. Schroeder-Davis, teacher and districtwide curriculum specialist, District Office, 42 years

Ann M. Shirey, secretary, Elk River High School, 21 years

Kathryn M. Simonson, manager of Early Childhood Family Education at the Handke Center, 29 years

Thomas M. Stoll, science teacher, Salk Middle School, 30 years

Alice A. Strom, special education and early childhood special education teacher, Handke Center, nine years

Patricia L. VandenHoek, secretary, Salk Middle School, SMS, 23 years

Sharon K. Wagner, teacher and music teacher, Rogers Elementary School, 36 years

Gail A. Weber, teacher, Rogers High School, 25 years

Joyce A. Wefel, teacher and social worker, VandenBerge Middle School, 15 years

Victoria L. Wilt, teacher and social worker, Meadowvale Elementary School, 36 years

Andrea K. Zwirner, secretary, Otsego Elementary School, 35 years

by Joni Astrup

Associate Editor

Graduating seniors at Zimmerman High School heard some “pearls of wisdom” before collecting their diplomas Wednesday night.

Valedictorian Danielle Johnson with her speech “Pearls of Wisdom.” Photos by Erik Jacobsen

Valedictorian Danielle Johnson talked about three tired cliches that still bear repeating. They are:

•Never give up: “This is essentially the root to achieving any goal,” Johnson said.

•Just be yourself: Keep being individuals doing what you love, she told the graduates.

•Follow your dreams: “You do not want to achieve success only to realize that it’s not what you want — that it is someone else’s fairy-tale ending,” Johnson said. Pursue a goal that you are passionate about, she advised.

Graduating senior Parker Sturlaugson also spoke. He talked about challenges people face every day, and people have two choices: accept or decline, he said.

Parker Sturlaugson entertained the graduates with a speech called “Challenge Accepted.”

It’s important that graduates continue to challenge themselves to become better and stronger people, he said.

“As we move on from high school, we must not be afraid to accept the challenges life should happen to throw our way,” he said.

District 728 Superintendent Mark Bezek talked about the power of choices, and he passed along three thoughts. He told graduates to not waste their time but instead to make the most of every day, to take pride in everything they do and to stay close to parents, family and faith — a support system that will get them through the tough times and help them celebrate future accomplishments.

Graduates also heard from Lori Olson, who was asked by the senior class to represent the school staff at commencement. She told the graduates they mean more to her than words can say.

She encouraged them to celebrate all of their experiences, even adversity, as gifts. While difficulties may not feel much like gifts, she said, the resulting resilience, perseverance and strength gained through adversity may prove invaluable at some point in the future.

She also hopes the graduates continue to find ways to be great by serving.

“May you find ways to leave your heart with others,” Olson told them.

She quoted Winston Churchill, who said: “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

Lori Olson, staff representative, titled her speech “Gifts … and Giving.”

Dennis Warner sang his song “Beads On One String.”

A special guest at the graduation was musician Dennis Warner, who had made a connection with the class years earlier. He played guitar and sang “Beads On One String.”

The high school band and choir also performed. One of the choir’s numbers was Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young.”

Assistant Principal Kurran Sagan presented the Class of 2015, made up of 132 graduating seniors, and School Board Chair Jane Bunting accepted the class.

With that, the graduates — young women in light blue and young men in dark blue graduation gowns — filed across the stage to collect their diplomas.

After the last diploma was handed out, the graduates tossed their mortar boards high into the air in celebration.

These graduates of the Elk River Area School District have achieved a grade point average of 4.0 or above through seven semesters. 

Emma Crane

Emma Crane
Parents:  Curt and Deb Crane
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
In the fall, she had her most successful running season ever, breaking her personal record in the 4K. During the winter Emma enjoyed a successful Nordic Ski season with the many other seniors on the team. In choir she was able to participate in the NWSC All-Conference Honor choir, as well as travel with the choir on an amazing trip to Chicago. In the spring Emma acted in her final high school theater production, Beauty and the Beast. Her favorite classes this year were choir, Spanish IV, AP Lit and AP Art History.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Emma’s most memorable high school experience was playing Princess Winnifred in the high school’s production of Once Upon a Mattress her junior year. She has always enjoyed performing, and it was very special to be able to showcase my skills in a place where a lot of people who knew her could see her doing what she loves. There were also many very fun people in the cast with her, which made the show as much fun to rehearse as it was to perform.
What are your plans for the future? Next year Emma will be attending the University of St. Thomas to major in Vocal Music Education.

Joe Evans

Joe Evans
Parents:  Donald and Theresa Evans
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Joe took as many AP courses as he could. He took seven unique AP’s this year. Joe has taken all but two of the sixteen AP courses available at ERHS, and one of those (AP Calculus BC) he helped create by organizing students and petitioning the administration. Along with his coursework, Joe has participated on the Math Team, which went to state this year, and I was the captain of the Knowledge Bowl team. Also, he was a member of the Moody’s Mega Math Challenge finalist team that went to New York City in April.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Joe was on the Moody’s Mega Math Challenge finalist team that was flown out to New York City to compete. By far, that was his favorite high school experience. Joe, his teammates, Mr. Michner, and Mrs. Lerud all went to New York City for a weekend and were able to present their finalist paper to a board of Ph.D’s in one of the World Trade Center Towers. It was very a unique and enjoyable experience, and he will always remember it well.
What are your plans for the future? Joe will be attending one of the Ivy League schools, the University of Pennsylvania, to hopefully get a degree in a field of biology (He’s not sure which particular specialization yet). After getting his bachelor’s degree, he plan (though it is subject to change) to go to medical school and become a doctor.

Hallie Fousek

Hallie Fousek
Parents:  Paul and Cindy Fousek
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Hallie was involved in several AP, college and honors classes throughout her high school career. She found her favorite classes to be English and Spanish. Hallie participated in NHS, Spanish Club, DECA, and Link. Outside of school, she participated in her church’s youth group.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Hallie’s most memorable high school experience was participating in DECA. She loved the traveling experiences it gave her. Her favorite memories from DECA are traveling to New York and Florida with friends. They were trips of a lifetime, and she will hold onto the memories for forever.
What are your plans for the future? Hallie plans to attend the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. There she will be enrolled in the Carlson School of Management where she will pursue a degree in marketing and minor in Spanish.

Sam Gearou

Samuel Gearou
Parents: Rebecca and Dennis Gearou
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Sam participated in National Honor Society, Math Team, as well as varsity tennis. Sam’s junior year, he took AP Calculus AB, Wind Symphony, AP Chemistry, AP Language and Composition, CIS Spanish III, and AP World History. As a senior, Sam took AP Calculus BC, Wind Symphony, AP Biology, AP Literature and Composition, CIS Spanish IV, AP Government and Politics, and AP Macroeconomics.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Sam’s most memorable high school experience was winning state tennis in 2012. After playing on varsity for three years, he really got to know the boys on the team. Working hard during the season, all the hard work in the off season, and many private lessons and tournaments payed off in the end, and Sam earned this honor with a great group of friends who got to experience it with him.
What are your plans for the future? Sam plans to attend Pomona College in Claremont, California, and he is going to play competitive tennis there. He plans to major in Computer Science and he hopes to learn as much as he can about the field so he can work for a top tech company in Silicon Valley.

Joshua Gearou

Joshua Gearou
Parents:  Denny and Becky Gearou
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. This year Josh was involved in five Advanced Placement classes (Literature and Composition, Calculus BC, Government and Politics, Macroeconomics, and Biology). Josh’s other classes were Spanish IV and Wind Symphony. His extra-curricular activities included: Jazz Band, Math Team, and tennis.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Josh’s most memorable experience was winning the High School State Tournament as a team in 2012. The team had worked hard for many years before this time, and finally all of the hard work paid off. Many years ago his coach had spent endless seasons simply trying to put a respectable team together, and it was a pleasant surprise for him to win a state tournament decades later. Josh took joy in winning the state tournament for his coach as much as for himself.
What are your plans for the future? Josh plans to attend Pomona College in California and major in computer science and play tennis there.

Hannah Georgeson

Hannah Georgeson
Parents:  David and Sandra Georgeson
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Hannah was a varsity dancer on the Elk River Dance Team for 4 years and was also a member of the Spanish Club. She served as the Elk River DECA Chapter President as well as the Minnesota DECA Vice President of Public Relations.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Hannah’s most memorable high school experience was attending all the football games during the fall of her senior year. She loved being surrounded by her fellow classmates to watch their last few games together.
What are your plans for the future? In the future, Hannah plans to attend the University of Wisconsin- Madison to study Communication Sciences and Disorders. She hopes to work with children as a speech pathologist or audiologist and to one day open her own practice.

Katherine Gingras

Katherine Gingras
Parents:  Trish and Steve Gingras
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. This past year, Katherine, known by all her classmates and teachers as Katie, has been involved with swimming, jazz band, pep band, and marching band. Katie took many advanced classes this year and really enjoyed all of them, especially AP Literature and AP Physics.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Katie’s most memorable experience was her three years in marching band. With the local marching band, she has met tons of new people from Rogers and Zimmerman, not just Elk River, and has traveled around the state to compete. Katie is looking forward to traveling to Saint Louis this summer with the marching band.
What are your plans for the future? Katie is currently planning on attending Michigan Technological University for Molecular Biology.

Jordan Haack

Jordan Haack
Parents:  Dan and Laura
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Jordan took as many AP classes as he could, and also took an advanced math course at the University of Minnesota, where he finished up through Calculus III. He is the captain of the Math Team, where he ended up becoming state champion, and he was on the Moody’s third place team in New York. He is a captain in tennis, where he plays #3 singles. Jordan also participated in Knowledge Bowl and NHS.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Jordan’s most memorable high school experience was winning state in math league. He worked hard all summer and was very determined to place top three. Luckily, he performed very well at state, where he won by two points. He is thankful that his diligence paid off.
What are your plans for the future? Jordan plans to attend Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. He will most likely major in Math or something closely related.

Angela Hipsag

Angela Hipsag
Parents:  Brian and Stacy Hipsag
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Angela did part time PSEO this year. Her only class at high school this past year was A.P. Statistics. Angela was involved in National Honor Society and Nordic Skiing. She also took piano lessons and was a peer minister for her church.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Angela’s most memorable experiences were the winter trips for skiing. She enjoyed bonding with her teammates, exploring the ski trails, and the good food.
What are your plans for the future? Angela will be attending the University of Northwestern St. Paul to major in Elementary Education. She will also be working towards a math endorsement that will allow her to teach middle school math.

Peter Jones

Peter Jones
Parents:  Robert and Patricia Jones
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Peter’s schooling this year consisted of AP Lit. with Harmer, Calc B.C. with Lerud, AP Physics with Anderson, AP Gov with McGowan, AP Econ with The Enforcer, Independent Study of Clay with Husen, Strength III with Breyen, and Advanced Marketing with Weiler. Extracurriculars include Football and Hockey, M3 Challenge, DECA, and a very brief stint with Knowledge Bowl.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Peter had a very tough time choosing! Travelling to New York for the M3 challenge was awesome, but so was everything in DECA, Football had an unreal season, and Hockey has been a major influence on his life. Everything and everyone had a significant influence on who he is today, and combined made high school a very enjoyable experience.
What are your plans for the future? Peter will attend the University of St. Thomas and play football. His current plans include becoming a neurosurgeon with a spinal focus, but he also recognizes he may choose one of many other paths, and is excited to enjoy the ride.

Geneva Kachinske

Geneva Kachinske
Parents:  Robert and Georgia Kachinske
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Geneva was a captain of the volleyball team this year as well as the Vice President of National Honor Society.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Geneva’s most memorable high school experience was being able to play volleyball all four years and topping it off with a great last year. It was an awesome experience that was fun but she also learned a lot of life skills she can take with her.
What are your plans for the future? Geneva plans to go to Mankato State University to do the Pre-occupational therapy program they offer and after that she will go on to grad school to complete her degree.

Matthew Lee

Matthew Lee
Parents:  Brian and Elizabeth Lee
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. During this past year, Matthew had both semesters of full advanced placement classes and these classes took a significant amount of involvement. He also participated in Knowledge Bowl.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Matthew’s most memorable high school experience was participating in Knowledge Bowl. He enjoyed spending time with his friends, answering questions, making jokes, and competing against other schools.
What are your plans for the future? Matthew is attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and pursuing a degree in some undecided form of engineering.

Sarah Livingston

Sarah Livingston
Parents:  Kerry and Joseph Livingston
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Sarah has participated in multiple extra-curricular activities throughout her high school career. including Travel Soccer, Youth in Government, French Club, Band, Pep Band, Pit Orchestra, National Honors Society, and Math Team. She also was enrolled in many AP courses, as well as French class and Band.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? After her sophomore year, Sarah traveled to Ireland with the band and performed a series of concerts abroad there. She also enjoyed sightseeing as well as making memories with her closest friends there. It has inspired her to travel more in the future, and perhaps study abroad in college.
What are your plans for the future? Sarah plans to head to Michigan Technological University in Houghton Michigan to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering.

Molly McQuown

Molly McQuown
Parents:  Jennifer and Timothy McQuown
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Molly’s senior classes included AP Calculus, AP Literature, Anatomy and Physiology, Government/Economics, Advanced Marketing, and Biology. She was also involved in National Honors Society and Elk River DECA.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Molly’s most memorable high school experience was traveling to Atlanta and Orlando with Elk River DECA. Being able to explore these cities with some of her closest friends created memories she will never forget.
What are your plans for the future? Molly plans to attend the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities to study nursing. She also hopes to get married, start a family, and travel the world.

Emily Motin

Emily Motin
Parents:  Paul Motin and Susan Hubbs
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Emily was involved in several Advanced Placement and College Classes. Additionally, she was a member of the Speech Team, Theater Group, National Honor Society, French Club, Yellow Ribbon, President of GSA, and several more.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Emily’s most memorable experience was her involvement on the Elk River High School Speech team. It created a family for her. Everyone was so supportive and loving. She adored every person on that team and especially the coaches.
What are your plans for the future? Emily will be attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She will be studying in the College of Biological Sciences. Additionally, she plans on majoring in Biology and declaring Pre-Med.

Shelby Paaverud

Shelby Paaverud
Parents:  Dave and Sarah Paaverud
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. This past year, most of Shelby’s schedule consisted of accelerated courses, including AP and college level classes. She has also been involved in NHS, Future Educators Club, FCA, Young Life and a leadership team at Central Lutheran Church. As well as her involvement in school and outside of school, she works at an after school program at Kaleidoscope Charter School.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Shelby’s most memorable high school experience would probably be the nights sitting by the fire with her friends, talking and laughing so hard she would cry. These nights were special for her because she spent time with some awesome people.
What are your plans for the future? Shelby is attending Winona State University next fall and wants to pursue a career working with kids. She is thinking about Special or Elementary Education. She hopes to make a difference by encouraging and inspiring kids to follow their dreams.

Emily Sederstrom

Emily Sederstrom
Parent:  Jill Harder
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. This past year Emily took band and six A.P. classes. She was also involved in math team, jazz band, band council, and other miscellaneous band activities.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Emily’s most memorable high school experience is, by far, traveling to Ireland for band. She loved the culture and the landscape (and not to mention the accents). She also made great friends on the trip! It was just an amazing experience overall.
What are your plans for the future? Emily is attending the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota. As of now, she is interested in education for biology or chemistry.

Sophie Wiitala

Sophie Wiitala
Parents:  Jane Wiitala, Micah Wiitala
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. In the 2014-2015 school year Sophie has actively challenged herself with rigorous courses including Ap Physics, Ap Calculus AB, Ap Literature as well as other college level classes. Outside of the academic world Sophie has been a participant of multiple band extra-curricular activities such as Pep Band and Pit Orchestra.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? The summer before junior year when Sophie traveled with the Elk River and Zimmerman High School bands to Ireland for a performance tour was probably her most memorable high school experience. Across the Atlantic Sophie had the chance to work with Irish bands and perform in the park of a bustling city. She also had the opportunity to travel across the country side, witness breathtaking views and explore cities and towns across Ireland. To have been allowed this opportunity, in high school no less, is something that Sophie will never forget.
What are your plans for the future? In the fall Sophie will be attending the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences to pursue a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Psychology. Afterwards she plans on obtaining her Pharm.D. in order to pursue a career in Psychiatric Pharmacy.

Colette Woyke

Colette Woyke
Parents:  Dave and Colleen Woyke
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Colette was on the Cross Country Running team and was involved in the art department this past year.
What was your most memorable high school experience?  Why was it special? Colette’s most memorable high school experience was her involvement in AP Studio Art. She has enjoyed improving her skills and expanding the variety of works she does.
What are your plans for the future? Colette will be attending South Dakota State University in the fall, pursuing a major in Ecology and Environmental Science, as well as a minor in Studio Art.

Danielle Johnson

Danielle Johnson
Parents: Dybwad and Brad Johnson
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
I was in jazz band, prep band, band tutoring, Granite Ridge All-Conference Honor Band, Granite Ridge All Conference ensemble competition and National Honor Society. My classes this year were wind symphony, government, college principles of macroeconomics, AP English literature and composition, AP calculus, AB and AP chemistry. I hold a part-time job at Holiday Station stores.
What is your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special?
My most memorable high school experience was playing “Overture Jubilos” in band entirely without Mr. Smith conducting. We grew stronger as a band since we had to rely on each other instead of having a teacher lead the way. We made mistakes, but we kept the song going until the end.
What are your plans for the future?
I plan to go to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for a BS in animal science with pre-veterinary emphasis. After that, I plan to pursue a D.V.M. to become a large animal veterinarian.

Marissa Luing

Marissa Luing
Parents: Jennifer and Titus Luing
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
This past year I took AP calculus and college economics at Zimmerman High School. I also took environmental science, government, composition, health and wellness and chemistry through the University of Northwestern_St. Paul. For extra-curriculars this year, I was the vice president of the Zimmerman High School drama club, participated in two plays, was captain of the speech team and even tried cross country (emphasis on tried).
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience was being a part of the speech team. Being in speech helped me find my voice and develop as a person. I learned so many communication skills and discovered my passion for speaking. It was also pretty awesome to go to state this year!
What are your plans for the future? I plan to go to St. Cloud State University next fall. I am going to double-major in communications and political science. I want to use my passion for communications to help make a difference in our country. Vote for Marissa for president 2040!

Lance Davis

Lance Davis
Parents: Ed and Lori Davis
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
Of the 13 credits I earned this year, seven were college level. I partook in my second year of Knowledge Bowl, fourth year of pep band and seventh year of band; I enjoyed all of these activities.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? Some of my best memories occurred on the New York City and Chicago band trips, 2013 and 2015 respectively. There are too many great memories; I can’t pick one, but all the memories involve great people, close friends and an awesome teacher.
What are your plans for the future? I will be attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus this fall. I plan on majoring in physics and possibly engineering. I would love to work for NASA or be a physics professor.

Wayne Kinney

Wayne Kinney
Parents: Mike Kinney and Sandy Kinney
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
For my senior year, I was in choir, S2S German, government and economics, gym, world literature and creative writing and Zimmerman High School Drama Club all year. I was in the fall musical, “The Music Man.” I was in the one act play, “Fourteen Lines.” I was in the spring play, “Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” I was also the pep band manager.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? All of Drama Club was most memorable. Being Carlie Cowell in “The Music Man,” Andrew Jamison in “Fourteen Lines” and Fenris Ulf in “Narnia” was memorable because it brought out a new side in me. It helped me to be more confident. I enjoyed everything about Drama Club and all the new friends I made.
What are your plans for the future? I’m going to St. Cloud State University in the fall of 2015 where I’ll major in psychology and still do theatre. I want to be a psychologist because being able to help people out is what I want to do with my life.

Maddie Jacob

Maddie Jacob
Parents: Steve and Cindy Jacob
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
I have taken a few AP and S to S classes (i.e. AP calculus, AP chemistry, S to S economics). I was a member of NHS. I played on the varsity soccer, basketball and softball teams. I was a captain in each my senior year.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? When my soccer team achieved its best record in school history this past fall and won our conference. It was fun to see all the girls come together and do something people doubted.
What are your plans for the future? I got a soccer scholarship to play for the University of Sioux Falls. I will also be pursuing a major in accounting.

Tanner Hermanson

Tanner Hermanson
Parents: Dan and Kristie Hermanson
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
This past year one of my favorite and most difficult classes has been AP calculus. It was my first class to ever get less than an A (A-), but it was a good experience for me to learn that mistakes are okay and I should learn from them. In this way, I feel I learned the most in AP calc this year. Besides class work, I also participate in tennis for Elk River.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience was winning the integrity award (my senior year). It was so memorable because I had yet to ever receive a character award, since I had always only gotten perfect attendance (6th-12th grade) and academic achievement.
What are your plans for the future? I plan to attend Bethel University for physics and aerospace engineering. I hope to get a job at NASA someday as an aerospace engineer.

Dennis Kemmetmueller

Dennis Kemmetmueller
Parents: James and Karen Kemmetmueller
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
I was involved in National Honor Society for two years and a member of the high school football team all four years, trapshooting for three years.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? AP World History with Mr. Hood because we had a great class and it was really fun with Mr. Hood. Also playing varsity football for two years on a very successful team.
What are your plans for the future? Plan on going to North Dakota State University to major in agricultural or mechanical engineering.

Heather Kilber

Heather Kilber
Parents: Jeff and Collette Kilber
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
I took many AP and CIS classes throughout my high school career that challenged me and have prepared me for the future. I was co-president of National Honor Society and a leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes my senior year. I was on the Lady Royals soccer team for five years, being named co-captain my senior year. I was also on the high school track and field team for four years and in Just for Kix studio dance for 13 years.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience was being a captain for the high school soccer team. I had a lot of responsibilities and learned how to be a good leader and role model for my teammates. It was a great season with a lot of hard work put in, and I wouldn’t trade those memories I made with those girls for anything.
What are your plans for the future? I plan on attending the University of St. Thomas where I will be studying business and marketing and running for the UST track and field team.

Bailey Miller

Bailey Miller
Parents: Donald and Tammy Miller
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
During these last four years of high school, I have been involved in the varsity basketball program and National Honor Society. Then every year I have been in AP and CIS classes.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience is being apart of the basketball team. It gave me my life long friends and my favorite coaches. I will always remember my high school basketball team.
What are your plans for the future? In the future, I plan on attending the University of Minnesota-Morris to play basketball. I am majoring in biochemistry and Spanish with my sights on med school to study something in medicine.

Sydney Nelson

Sydney Nelson
Parents: Dean Nelson and Renee Hobday-Nelson
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year.
I have taken many AP and CIS classes my sophomore and junior year. For my senior year, I decided to take college classes through PSEO at North Hennepin Community College. My sophomore year I was on the Rogers Fall Dance Troupe and my junior and senior year I was on the Rogers Royals Varsity Dance Team.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience was competing with the Royals Dance Team and winning the conference championship both years that I was on the team.
What are your plans for the future? Next fall I plan on attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison and I am currently undecided on my major.

Nathan Pinter

Nathan Pinter
Parents: Michael and Camille Pinter
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. I was involved in five AP classes during my junior and senior year: AP human geography, AP biology, AP physics, AP calculus and AP literature and composition. These classes challenged me to work harder everyday. I’ve been involved with band and jazz band all four years of high school and have been the first chair the past two years. I have been in NHS since 10th grade working with various things. I played house baseball and basketball throughout high school and since I was a little kid. I have been on the Rogers High School bowling team since 7th grade and was the captain this year. I am also the captain of the Rogers High School Boys Varsity Tennis team. I’ve been in tennis since 10th grade. I have also been on the Knowledge Bowl team since 10th grade. I’ve been in Scouts since sixth grade and in 10th grade I earned the rank of Eagle Scout. It took a lot of hard work and determination. This year I was also involved in River Valley Sound through the 728 Cadets. I have also been in Mississippi 8 Honor Band for five years straight. I was in the pit band for this year’s musical.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience was this year during the Veteran’s Day memorial service we held for all the seniors in the gym. I got to perform in the band with a few songs, but the memorable part was when I got to stand up by myself and play Taps for my entire class. It was special because it was for an honorable cause, and I was able to play for all of my friends and receive many compliments.
What are your plans for the future? I will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the fall and will major in something in math or science. I plan to get a four-year degree and find a job in the field of which I studied. I hope to make a difference in whatever place I end up in.

Elizabeth Rubbelke

Elizabeth Rubbelke
Parents: Bruce and Jeanne Rubbelke
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. I have been involved in many CIS and AP courses over my four years at Rogers High School. Also, I participated in Knowledge Bowl for four years. I was a co-captain of the Rogers Girls Tennis Team and lettered three years. I also was part of NHS and within that, a concessions manager and treasurer.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience was being on of the co-captains for tennis. It was so fund bonding with my teammates and working with the other captains. It was great way to end my last year of the sport.
What are your plans for the future? I am going to attend the University of St. Thomas in the fall to study engineering.

Emily Bourgeois

Emily Bourgeois
Parents: Patrick Bourgeois and Patricia White
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. AP: Human Geo, English & Language, English & Literature, Calculus, Government, World History, Biology. CIS: Anatomy, Pre-Calc, French. One-Act Play Fall Play, Spring Musical, Club Soccer NHS
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? Participating in the one-act play. It really allowed me to grow as a person, become more confident and expand my creativity. I met so many great people & grew closer to my teachers/directors.
What are your plans for the future? University of Minnesota, biochemistry and hopefully forensic science later on.

Hannah Bremer

Hannah Bremer
Parents: Richard Bremer and Heidi Larson-Bremer
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. I have been involved in the RHS News, National Honor Society, DECA, Royal Connections Peer Mentoring, student council and peer mentoring.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? I got the chance to go to the 2015 International DECA Conference in Orlando, FL and my group earned 3rd place with our community service project. It was a great experience and I made great memories.
What are your plans for the future? I will be attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities to study communications.

Olivia Anton

Olivia Anton
Parents: Ingrid Anton and David Anton
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. I have been involved in AP and honors courses since freshman year. I’ve been on the girls’ swim team and in the 728 Cadets marching band since middle school. I’ve also participated in NHS and Link.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special?
My favorite high school memory was traveling to New Orleans with the RHS band this year. I got to travel to new places and see crazy things and had a lot of fun with new friends.
What are your plans for the future? I will be attending UW-Madison this fall to pursue a major in biology specializing in neuroscience. I also hope to join the Badger Band in Wisconsin.

Samantha Hess

Samantha Hess
Parents: Thomas and Melanie Hess
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. I am in many AP and college classes such as Anatomy and Physiology, Economics, English, Calculus, Psychology and Physics. I am in National Honors Society and was concessions manager. I am a co-president of my high school Leo’s Club, a high school equivalent of a Lion’s Club. I have been a Link Leader for RHS freshmen for two years. I was one of eight of my classmates nominated to participate in the annual RHS Great Debate.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience was going to France between my sophomore and Junior year in high school. I had taken two years of French and got to practice my French while being simultaneously immersed into the French culture and I got to see amazing sites with some of my good friends!
What are your plans for the future?
I am going to the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in the fall. I plan on majoring in neuroscience while doing pre-med. I want to get into med school and become a psychiatrist.

Taycia Brandon

Taycia Brandon
Parents: John and Lee Brandon
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. I am involved in Leo’s Club, student council, NHS and Link at school. I’ve taken AP classes and enjoy foods class in school.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? There’s too many to just choose one! I have had so much fun with my friends and my teachers!
What are your plans for the future? I am attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities College of Biological Sciences. I am undecided in my major but am planning on keeping an open mind and discovering my interests.

Sophia Schmidt
Parents: Adam and Paula Schmidt

Sophia Schmidt

Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Throughout high school I have been involved in many extra-curricular activities including National Honor Society, Knowledge Bowl, DECA and Royal Connections.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience was at a Rogers Royals football game. I remember standing in the student section and looking around and seeing my entire class, school, and community all together and all connected. Everyone was cheering and enjoying themselves. I was surrounded by my friends and classmates and I felt so fortunate to have grown up in a community like Rogers. This memory will stick with me no matter where life takes me.
What are your plans for the future? Next fall I will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study biology and community and nonprofit leadership. I plan to go to medical school with the goal of becoming a pediatric hematologist.

Savannah Seiter

Savannah Seiter
Parents: Michael and Kathleen Seiter
Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year? I was a member of National Honor Society, IMPACT and played softball and tennis.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? The softball team winning conference for the first time ever my junior year and hitting a home run during that game.
What are your plans for the future? I will be attending Gustavus Adolphus College in the fall and majoring in biology.

Caleb Burke
Parents: Loreli Burke and Michael Burke

Caleb Burke

Highlight your involvement in high school classes and extra-curricular activities this past year. Throughout high school I have participated in four years of band, three years of Cross Country, four years of Track & Field and four years of Knowledge Bowl.
What was your most memorable high school experience? Why was it special? My most memorable high school experience was the state Cross Country meet. This was special because I got to run with all of the best runners in the state, and identify myself as one of them. It was a goal I had wanted to achieve since my first year of XC, and it was great to have my teammates there to cheer Tyler Bethke (who also ran in the state meet) and me on.
What are your plans for the future? I will be attending Minnesota State University, Mankato in the fall to study computer programming. I also hope to run cross country there. As for after college, I would love to be able to travel and to create something that will better the lives of others.

by Jim Boyle

Editor

Twenty-six students, each with a story of triumph over adversity, graduated June 2 from Ivan Sand Community High School at a ceremony held in Zabee Theater at Elk River High School.

Photos by Bill Jones
Twenty-six soon-to-be Ivan Sand Community High School graduates head into the Zabee Theater for their ceremony.

None was more poignant than Jessenia Kalstad’s story of triumph over tragedy. She started at the alternative high school after her father died the summer of her sophomore year from a rare type of cancer.

“His passing destroyed me. … I felt abandoned again,” Kalstad said in a prepared speech chronicling her academic journey.

The Ivan Sand graduate described her father as her hero, and one of her best supporters since day one. He taught her life lessons and protected her.

When he died, she had to leave home. She and her mother didn’t get along, and their relationship worsened. But her mother urged her to stay in school.

“I was very mad at my mom at the time, but thank goodness she was watching out for me,” she said.

Upon moving away from her mother and in with an older brother, she started to attend Ivan Sand. It was a fresh start where she could make a name for herself again. No one knew her.

“It was the best feeling,” she said.

She found supportive teachers that spoke kindly to her and even tended to her emotions. “I’m blessed to have been mentored by them,” she said. “I now know what it’s like to not give up on someone when they have given up on themselves.”

That’s a message that student after student shared during an 80-minute ceremony, which was conducted by Ashley Fransen and Raymond Johnson.

Scholarships of $1,000 or more went to Natalie Wendt, who was named Student of the Year and was awarded a $2,500 scholarship from Sodexo, the school district’s food service provider. Others to get $1,000 scholarships were Elise Williams (Elk River Lions Club), Kalstad (Three Rivers Community Foundation), Nate Williams-Shaw (Ivan Sand Community High School) and Alicia Simonson (Fairview Health Services).

Wendt was master of ceremonies at last year’s graduation ceremony and served as the school’s representative on the Elk River Area School Board.

She lost four family members during high school and said she eventually lost herself.

“I was devastated, numb, shocked, paralyzed, unable to move or think or live,” she said.

She dropped out and started an online program. Instead of gaining knowledge, she gained weight as she ate and sat, unable to do her coursework.

A friend suggested Ivan Sand, and she registered.

“And now here I am (graduating) and an adult,” she said. “I have my own house, I’m paying bills, and I start college in the fall at the University of Minnesota Morris campus.”

Caring teachers, staff credited

Nicolas “Nico” Crowley commented at graduation about teacher Cheryl Netka immediately spotting his potential after giving a speech called “My Life.”

Netka told Crowley he would give a similar speech but better at graduation, not the next one but his graduation.

“She saw potential I had and had faith that with the right push that I could become a good enough speaker to open up graduation.”

In addition to graduates talking of overcoming deaths of people close to them, they also spoke of triumphing over addictions, pregnancy, depression, anxiety and hopelessness.

Kalstad hopes someday to help people touched by drug abuse as a counselor or therapist, she said.

“My heart breaks for families being torn apart by substance abuse, so I will do everything in my power to help,” she said, extending thanks to the social workers, therapists and counselors that have impact her life and the lives of her family members.

“I did what everyone said I couldn’t do,” she said. “I graduated on time. And I triumphed over my tragedy.

“When life sends you a … curve ball made of solid concrete, you have to pull yourself up, dust yourself off, get mad, get going, take care of yourself and be grateful for the many people who are there to help you and get your life in order.”

Students have accepted diplomas across five area high schools, and many of them did so knowing they were awarded scholarships for their efforts in school. Below is a listing of the scholarships worth $1,000 and more that have been given out by businesses, organizations and initiatives to memorialize.

Elk River High School

Nathan Benkofske, Noelle M. Anderson Scholarship, $1,000; Emma Crane, Three Rivers Foundation, $1,000; Joseph Evans, Fairview-Northland Medical Center, $1,000; Robert Finseth, Three Rivers Foundation, $1,000; Hallie Fousek, Ramsey Lions Scholarship, $1,000; Hannah Gandrud-Christensen, First National Financial  Services, $2,015; Joshua Gearou, Pursuit of Greatness Award, $1,000; Samuel Gearou, Pursuit of Greatness Award, $1,000; Hannah Georgeson, Elk River Rotary Scholarship, $1,000; Alyssa Germscheid, Connexus Energy, $1,000; Katherine Gingras, Three Rivers Foundation, $1,000; Hunter Gulbranson, Three Rivers Foundation, $1,000; Jordan Haack, Great River Energy, $1,000, Three Rivers Foundation, $1,000; Mia Hansen, Noelle M. Anderson Scholarship, $1,000; Samantha Hendricks, Christopher Lange Memorial Scholarship, $1,000, Dana Hunt Art Scholarship, $1,000; Reece Hickman, Ramsey Lions Scholarship, $1,000; Maggie Hohlen, Three Rivers Foundation, $1,000; Peter Jones, The Bank of Elk River, $1,000; Geneva Kachinske, Cretex  Co. in Memory Of John H. Bailey, $10,000; Emily Krueger, ERHS Yearbook Scholarship, $1,000; Samantha Lindeen, Lyle Christensen Memorial Athletic Scholarship, $1,000; Sarah Livingston, Great River Energy, $1,000; Mariah Lybeck, ERHS Yearbook Scholarship, $1,000; Joseph Maloney, ER Fire & Ambulance Service Jack Kreuser Memorial Scholarship, $1,000; Paige Mathewson, Noelle M. Anderson Scholarship, $1,000; Molly McQuown, Noelle M. Anderson Scholarship, $1,000; Julia Miller, Ramsey Lions Scholarship, $1,000; Danica Mitchell, Elk River Lions, $1,000, Great River Energy, $1,000; Emily Motin, Fairview Northland Medical Staff, $1,000; Kaylee Roche, Elk River Lions, $1,000; Emily Sederstrom, Great River Energy, $1,000; Morgan Shryock, Ramsey Lions Scholarship, $1,000; Brionna Sink, Great River Energy, $1,000; Jaclyn Studniski, Elk River Lions, $1,000; Zachary Syverson, Three Rivers Foundation, $1,000; Emily Thedens, ERHS Yearbook Scholarship, $1,000; Garrett Turnacliff, Lyle Christensen Memorial Athletic Scholarship, $1,000; Mitchell Weege, James P. Voight Scholarship, $1,000; Alec Wosmek, Connexus Energy, $1,000; Mitchell Wosmek, Connexus Energy, $1,000.

Ivan Sand

Natalie Wendt, Sodexho, $2,500; Jessenia Kalstad, Three Rivers Initiative Foundation, $1,000, ISCHS, $1,000; Alicia Simonson, Fairview Health Services, $1,000, ISCHS, $1,000; Elise Williams, Elk River Lions Club, $1,000; Nathanial Williams-Shaw, ISCHS, $1,000.

Rogers High School

Olivia Anton, I-94 West Chamber, $1,000, Three Rivers, $1,000; Makda Biniam, Three Rivers, $1,000; Gunnar Bloom, RRTOC, $1,000; Emily Bourgeois, Lions – general, $1,000; Taycia Brandon, Lions – general, $1,000; Hannah Bremer, Lions – general, $1,000; Mackenzie Butenhoff, Veterans Memorial – Lions, $1,000; Megan Elliot, Fairview Northland, $1,000; Samantha Hess, Lions – general, $1,000; Adam Heyer, RRTOC, $1,000; Dani Karels, Oliver Kapsner – Lions, $1,000; Heather Kilber, Megan Sample, $3,000; Cassie Launderville, Al Miller Vision, $1,000; Lance Lendl, RRTOC, $1,000; Mary Liberko, Wright Hennepin, $1,200; Bailey Miller, Three Rivers, $1,000, RRTOC, $1,000; Marina Nowak, RRTOC, $1,000; Emmanuel Okematti, Three Rivers, $1,000; Carl Parent, Three Rivers, $1,000; Nathan Pinter, Lions – general, $1,000; Caleb Reese, RRTOC, $1,000; Taylor Roberts, I-94 West Chamber, $1,000; Elizabeth Rubbelke, Lions – general, $1,000; Sophia Schmidt, Eyewest, $1,000; Laura Schreiber, Kenneth McAlpine – Lions, $1,000; Mikayla Schreiber, Three Rivers, $1,000; Savannah Seiter, ROADS, $2,015; Alexis Taylor, First National Bank of Elk River, $2,015; Kaylee Tegtmeier, Ted Biren Memorial – Lions, $1,000.

Spectrum High School

Makenzie Anderson, University of Arkansas Full-Ride Gymnastics Scholarship; Josiah Bondy, Crown College Departmental Scholarship, $12,500, Cornerstone Grant, $2,000; Addison Cross, St. Catherine University Presidential Scholarship, $21,000, St. Catherine University Grant, $12,200; Ariel Doherty, Empire Creative Academic Scholarship, $1,000; Shaun Gilyard, Gustavus Dean’s Scholarship, $17,500, Jussi Bjoriing Scholarship, $5,000; Nash Gleason, Fairview-Northland Medical Center, $1,000; Rachael Goldsmith, Bethel University Royal Merit Scholarship, $15,000, Bethel University Grant, $2,110; Christina Grasso, Viterbo University Hallmark Scholarship, $9,000, Viterbo University Track Scholarship, $1,000, Viterbo University Cross Country Scholarship, $1,000; Megan Hassing, University of Minnesota, Morris Academic Scholarship, $6,000; Meghan Hays, North Central University Merit Scholarship, $6,500; Alison Henkemeyer, Opportunity Award Scholarship, $1,000, Texas A&M Non-resident Competitive Scholarship, $18,592; Danielle Hennies, St. Catherine University Dean’s Scholarship, $17,000, St. Catherine University Grant, $5,300; Benjamin Maki, University of Northwestern Presidential Scholarship, $8,000, Pastoral Work Scholarship, $1,500, Great River Energy Scholarship, $1,500; Molly Mitchell, Winona State University Presidents Honor Scholarship, $10,000, Connexus Energy, $1,000; Maycie Morgan, University of St. Thomas Sister Thomas Welder Academic Scholarship, $7,000; Brenna Olson, Three Rivers Community Foundation, $1,000; Ashlynne Preston, Whitworth University Honor’s Scholarship, $38,000; Christian Rieck, Elk River Lions Club, $1,000; Meghan Schroeder, University of Northwestern Dean’s Scholarship, $9,500 per year, Christian Workers Discount, $l,500/year.

Zimmerman High School

Tannor Witt, American Legion, $1,000; Brooke Salo, American Legion, $1,000; Danielle Johnson, Connexus Energy, 1,000; Lance Davis, Connexus Energy, $1,000; Elizabeth Pouliot, Fairview Northland Medical Center and Fairview Clinics, $1,000; Mack Riley, Laurie Kerr Memorial, $2,000 ($500 per year for four years); Abi Wisness, Three Rivers Community Foundation, $1,000; Madeline Jacob, Three Rivers Community Foundation, $1,000; Tanner Hermanson, Three Rivers Community Foundation, $1,000; Caitlyn Wilbur, Three Rivers Community Foundation, $1,000; Ben Jensen III, Tom and Lori McChesney Industrial Arts Scholarship, $1,000.

by Jim Boyle

Editor

Savannah Seiter has become the second in her family to become a valedictorian.

The first to graduate at the top of a class was her grandmother, who attended high school in Sunset, Louisiana. She paid someone to give her speech because she had already accepted a job out of state.

Photo by Jim Boyle
Savannah Seiter main sport was softball, but she was also a good tennis player.

Seiter joked with her parents, Mike and Kathy Seiter, that she should continue the family tradition and have someone else give a speech. Her parents didn’t go for it, she said.

All joking aside, Seiter wouldn’t miss her graduation for the world.

She shared the speaking part of graduation with Hannah Bremer, the school’s salutatorian, who was locked in a virtual dead heat for top student honors until the very last day of school and finals at Rogers High School.

She said the two plan to talk about the Class of 2015’s new beginning.

“What defined you in high school doesn’t have to continue past that,” Seiter said.

Seiter has been a scholar and an athlete so far, serving as a co-captain in her main sport of softball and in a supporting role on the tennis team her senior year.

Among her most memorable high school experiences was playing on the softball team her junior year when it won a conference title for the first time in school history and hitting a home run in the game to help seal it.

In tennis she was named one of the most valuable players and received all-state academic honors.

She was also a member of National Honor Society and one of the concessions managers her junior year. She was a member of the school IMPACT leadership program and a tutor.

Her favorite classes were AP biology, anatomy and first aid as well as AP statistics and AP U.S. history. Debates in English class and dissections with her friends in anatomy stand out among her favorite classroom experiences. Among the toughest classes were AP calculus and College in the Schools macroeconomics.

Seiter’s biology and anatomy teacher John Kapsner said Seiter has the discipline most high school students lack.

His first impression of her was that she was “all business” in terms of her learning and her grades.

“As I got to know her better, I found that the seriousness she displayed was more about her desire to learn and achieve in all aspects of her life,” Kapsner said. “She works extremely hard and asks good questions when she doesn’t understand something. Her dedication to being a good student and single focus on that is what separates her from other students I have had.”

A self-proclaimed perfectionist battled through difficult times by trying to stay organized and not procrastinate, Seiter said.

“I got lucky and have the ability to function on very little sleep,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt to have a great group of really smart friends to study with, too.”

Seiter was not focused on becoming the school’s valedictorian, but scoring A’s in all her classes became a goal early on. It was more about proving to herself she could do it than competing.

“(In high school) we all knew where we were in terms of GPA and class rank, but we all just wanted to do well and help each other out,” she said.

In the end, it was Seiter who came out on top.

Her scholarly grandmother eventually married, and she and husband managed a resort for part of their lives. Seiters parents also own and operate a business, but Savannah Seiter does not have such a desire.

She plans to major in biology at Gustavus Adolphus College and then move on to medical school or go into the environmental sciences.

She’s heard it might not be possible to get all A’s in college, but it will still be a goal, she said. She’s decided to end her sports career, which was a “hard call.” She was very competitive on athletic fields and had many friends. She will always remember when Rogers beat Elk River in softball because of all the friendships and rivalries across school lines.

Seiter attended Mary Queen of Peace Catholic School for kindergarten, Otsego Elementary School for her primary grades, Rogers Middle School and then Rogers High School.

She’s looking forward to more independence and freedom, she said, and will continue to be a determined and stubborn perfectionist.

“High school was fun, but I am excited to move on to college and new experiences,” Seiter said.

by Joel Strottrup

Contributing Writer

Danielle “Dani” Johnson, valedictorian of this year’s approximately 130-member Zimmerman High School senior class, realized while petting a horse in Door County, Wisconsin, last summer that she wanted become a large-animal veterinarian.

Submitted photo
A flute player, Danielle Johnson plans to become a veterinarian.

Johnson, 17, had already wanted to become a veterinarian, but it was for companion animals like dogs and cats. But as she stood stroking the horse, she thought about large animals, such as horses and cows. People have forgotten how important they are in the economy, providing meat and milk, but also in people’s daily lives in other ways, she said. Another reason for becoming a large-animal veterinarian is that as few as 8 percent of veterinarians specialize in large animals, she added.

She did not grow up on a farm but did go to horse camps during some summers as a preteen in Zimmerman. Johnson, the daughter of Debbie Dybwad and Brad Johnson, has a brother and a sister, now 21 and 24 respectively. Johnson, who enjoys reading, walking and running, said she is the only valedictorian in her family tree.

She was a flute player in the school’s Wind Symphony and it brought her a particular school highlight. The seniors in Wind Symphony were assigned to practice “Overture Jubiloso” and one day were rehearsing it without their director, Tim Smith, because he was repairing an instrument. Soon the other band members joined in to play it.

“It was amazing to feel so connected to my fellow classmates as we played the song,” she recalled. “We had some rough patches, but we were able to make it through the entirety of the song, which we had not yet done.”

Johnson, who will be attending the University of Minnesota in the fall, already has many college credits from taking advanced placement classes. If the results of her most recent AP tests turn out as well as her past ones, she could be a semester away from being a college junior, she said.

Johnson was also in speech, jazz band, pep band, swimming and National Honor Society in high school and was part of a leadership group called LINK crew, and tutored sixth-grade flute players. She had to get out of activities after a certain point, she said, to get a job to pay for car insurance, gas and other expenses. Besides various academic awards, she was band student of the year in her junior and senior years and was student of the year as a senior.

Her favorite activities and classes were Wind Symphony, AP U.S. history, AP physics, AP English language and composition, and AP English literature and composition.

Becoming a valedictorian has been her goal since she listened to a valedictorian’s speech during her sister’s high school graduation in 2009. Johnson said she kept tabs on the  other top GPA students at Zimmerman High but felt that if another should be named valedictorian, they would “obviously deserve it.”

“They are all great people,” she added, “and I believe they made me stronger as a person as we struggled through many advanced classes together.”

Johnson’s most enjoyable academic projects included when she and another flute player taught themselves how to play various musical compositions as flute duets.  She also enjoyed the History Day Project.

“I sometimes don’t believe I’m actually here,” she said about arriving at the point of high school graduation. “I thought it would be going on forever and would never get to that point. It seems kind of surreal.”

Johnson now looks forward to being in a greater mix of people that she expects to find at the U of M compared to her Zimmerman environs.

Submitted photo
Brenna Olson, Spectrum High School’s top student, will pursue a career as a computer programmer.

by Joni Astrup

Associate Editor

Brenna Olson came to Spectrum High School in Elk River as a 10th-grader, and she’s glad she did.

“I really enjoyed it there,” Olson said.

She described the school environment as “welcoming” and said she loved the teachers and students and made some good friends.

Olson also excelled academically and was the valedictorian of her class. Commencement exercises were held May 29.

Olson plans to attend Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids and then head to the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus to pursue a degree in computer science.

She’d like to work as a computer programmer.

“I enjoy seeing how computer software works, and I see the significance of computers in our society today and want to be able to play a role in that,” Olson said.

Working at Apple would be a dream job, she said.

Asked what attributes she possesses that would make her a good computer programmer, Olson said she’s an analytical thinker and problem solver, is detail oriented and is good at math.

She said it’s also very important that a programmer truly thinks about how people are going to use the software.

“Anyone who’s used a computer has probably run into things that weren’t easy to use or intuitive, and that’s the result of programmers not caring about that aspect of the software,” Olson said. “To me, that’s very important, and I think that’s why many people get frustrated with computers and don’t enjoy using them because it doesn’t make their work (or play) easier.”

That’s the biggest reason why she chooses to use Apple devices and create apps for their devices, she said.

She’s been putting her computer skills to work in a number of ways.

For her senior project at Spectrum, Olson made a website, 2 Minute Tech Tips (sites.google.com/site/2mintechtips), which has tips for Apple devices, privacy, security and Google searches.

Olson also served on Spectrum’s technology committee during her junior and senior year and helped in Spectrum’s IT department her senior year as an assistant.

“This is not your normal TA role of grading and copying – this is something that requires technical knowledge and is a very fast-paced environment,” Olson said. “I didn’t always know what I’d be doing on a given day because so many different things that needed to be done would come up at unexpected times.”

She also enjoys doing computer programming in her free time.

Her other leisure enjoyments include gardening and participating in activities with friends at her church.

Olson is the daughter of Tom and Gina Olson, of Dayton, and has an older brother, Matt. She had gone to a private Christian school before enrolling at Spectrum. Olson said they found out about Spectrum in a rather unusual way — from their dental hygienist.

While at Spectrum, Olson lettered in academics all three years, lettered in senior project, was selected as student of the month and graduated summa cum laude.

When it came to classes, Olson particularly enjoyed Game It, robotics and art and said the teaching abilities of her English teacher, Amy Kinney, were amazing. She also considers Kinney a mentor.

Kinney described Olson as a remarkably hard worker with attention to detail in everything she does.

“She has a sunny disposition and is always eager to apply what she has learned in the classroom to her experiences in the world,” Kinney said. “It’s been a terrific experience to have played a part in the education of a wonderful student like Brenna Olson.”

Asked her system for getting good grades, Olson said the key thing for her is effort.

“I will almost never turn in half-hearted-done work because I don’t feel like I’ve given my personal best, even if my personal best isn’t necessarily an A,” she said.

by Jim Boyle

Editor

Teacher Curt Michener first spotted Jordan Haack’s competitive streak early in high school.

Photo by John Sherman, ECM Publishers
Jordan Haack has acomplished much in high school, with some of the latest accomplishments coming on the tennis court.

He knew enough about the young man from conversations with Haack’s dad to recruit him for his math team, but he couldn’t get the high school freshman too fired up about joining.

He said he’d probably join but wouldn’t commit. When he finally joined,  he proved to be difficult to work with.

“He tended to work alone and scoffed at me when I tried to give him extra problems,” Michener said.

That was the case until he discovered results were kept statewide and posted.

“Once he learned that he had the chance to be the best and recognized, it was game on,” Michener said.

His competitive spirit has been on display ever since for Michener. Haack’s conquests in the classroom, at state and national math competitions and on the tennis court have been well-documented in the Star News.

He has landed valedictorian honors, competed in the state tennis tournament every year he’s played, including this past week, and won state titles individually in mathematics and a trip to Moody’s in Manhattan to compete with other math scholars from Elk River High School against the nation’s top mathematicians.

Oh, and he’s also a National Merit Scholar, got a perfect score on his ACT test and helped an all-state Minnesota math team to its best finish (11th) in the nation since 2003.

“He is a competitor through and through,” Michener said.

Elk River’s No. 3 singles player helped the team finish second.

This year Haack was to compete in doubles tennis at state with Sam Gearou and with the whole Elks team. He and Gearou had yet to finish tournament play as of press time.

Tennis coach Randy Ronning said that although Haack is the No. 3 guy on the team, he would be the No. 1 guy on many teams.  The tennis coach said Haack’s combination of athleticism and intelligence have made him a great tennis player.

“Pretty impressive for someone who didn’t take up the sport until his freshman year,” Michener said. “It’s definitely not surprising, though, as he pushes himself on the court as much as in the classroom.”

Haack is the son of Dan and Laura Haack.

In addition to being captain of both the math and tennis team, he was also in National Honor Society and Knowledge Bowl.

His favorite classes were AP computer science and AP chemistry. He called them “very interesting subjects and fun to be a part of.”

The tic-tac-toe project he did in computer science is easily the most enjoyable of his high school career, he said. Students had to write a program which could play the game while also following certain guidelines, and then all of their programs went head to head in a tournament.

“It was fun to compete and see what techniques everyone else used,” Haack said.

Haack said Michener has been his most influential teacher.

“I can’t thank him enough for how much he has helped me improve as a mathematician,” Haack said.

Haack said his toughest course was the two years of English he took, but his junior year Denise Green helped him improve his writing skills “a ton.”

When he realized that his schedule would be enough for him to win valedictorian over his peers, he said he “made sure” to get straight A’s.

To do that, he said he stayed organized and tried to keep his grades as high as he could in every class so that he wouldn’t need to worry about any class in particular.

He said the high school’s grading system, however, is flawed. Three band kids would have tied him if it weren’t for band lowering their grade point averages.

“But on the flip side, my Calculus II and III courses at the University of Minnesota also went unweighted, even though they were much harder than any class this school offers,” he said.

Haack, who was to give a speech at Elk River High School’s June 5 graduation ceremony, said he is happy to be moving on.

He will be attending Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. He said he will likely major in some form of math or computer science, and go on to be either an actuary or a software engineer.

“In 10 years I hope to have a stable job and little debt,” he said, and, “hopefully, that isn’t too unrealistic.”

Michener wouldn’t put anything past Haack. He knows how second place is not good enough in Haack’s book.

“He strives to be the best in everything he does,” Michener said. “When he does have an occasional struggle, he works until he has mastered what was once his struggle.

“If I were a betting man, I’d bet that he becomes the best in his field someday.”

Tyler Adams, Connor Alexy, Benjamin Allen, Shelby Anderson, Aaron Andreasen*, Chase Angell*, Roberto Arrache, Ivana Arrington*, Brady Artwohl*, Ngefor Asangwe**~, Steven Ayers, Alexis Ayres*, Alex Balken, Coral Barden*, Ryan Barnes, Cameron Barringer, Haley Bartell**, Austin Batula*, Tanner Beckerleg**~, Alec Becklin*, Ana Bedoya*, Brennan Beese, Sara Begin*, Nathan Benkofske**, Carter Bentley*, Dakotah Berg*, Weston Bernardson, Amy Billings, Kevin Black, Landon Blake, Adam Booth**, James Bounds*~, Benjamin Boutain*, Dylan Bouten*, Colin Bowe*, Benjamin Boyd*, Lauren Brayden**~, Zachary Breuer, Tyler Brockway, Andrew Bronshteyn*, Jordan Brown**, John Bryant, Jacob Buhl*, Levi Burke*, Scott Cable, Morgan Cain, Garrett Caldon**, Samantha Cardinal*, Christopher Carlsen, Jacob Carlson, Blake Castagneri*, Dillon Chamberlain*, Shawnessy Charlson, Tyler Chesemore*, Westin Cleveland, Nathan Collins**, Efren Contreras-Hernandez, Cody Cornelius, Taylor Cotton*~, Brandon Cramer**~, Emma Crane***~, Melissa Cross*, Allie Curtis, Shayla Curtis*~, Sydney Dahlberg, Isaiah Dahle, Jake Dahlheimer, Michael Dahlson**, Blake Dalzell, Christian Darsie, Andrew Davies, Lauren Davies*, Cassandra Dedon, Brody Dedrick, Morgan Dieterichs, Brittany Dietz, Joseph Dilley, Michaela Donat, Alyssa Dorff**~, Aaron Dwyer**~, Nolan Dwyer, Bradley Edwards**~, Jessica Edwards, Matthew Egan, John Elliott*, Michael Engler, Ellie Engstrom*, Hunter Enkhaus**, Kyle Erickson***, Zachary Ernst**, Joseph Evans***, Bailey Evenson**, Jennifer Faue, Bailey Faust*, Nicholas Feehan, Alacia Feela, Maria Fernandez, Robert Finseth*, Madison Fix, Samantha Fourdyce, Hallie Fousek***~, Anton Franz, Colton Fredenberg*, Abigail Frie*, Hunter Friend, Andrew Fritz, Jenna Fromm**~, Dylan Fure*, Erica Fyten, Taylor Gale, Zachary Gallagher, Hannah Gandrud-Christensen**, Chase Gauthier**~, Joshua Gearou***~, Samuel Gearou***~, Daniel Gebhardt, Hannah Georgeson***, Alina Gerasimov**, Alyssa Germscheid*, Austin Gibson*, Brooke Gillquist*, Katherine Gingras***~, Riley Givens**, Mariah Gjerdingen*, Zachary Glasgow*~, Greta Gleiter**, Elizabeth Goddard, Nolan Goebel**~, Hannah Graif*~, Emily Gregerson, James Grillo*, David Grittner, Hunter Gulbranson**, Matthew Gulden**~, Benjamin Gustafson, Alexander Gutterud**~, William Gutzwiller*, Jordan Haack***~, Jaimi Hagen**~, Noah Hallbeck*, Emma Hanegraaf**~, Stephanie Hanowski*, Maxwell Hansen, Mia Hansen*, Andrea Hanson, Havana Hanson*, Emily Hartmann**, Katelyn Hartneck**, Breanna Haugland, Nikki Haugland**, Jarin Haywood, Samantha Hendricks**~, Kalley Hennessey, Brandon Hepner, Ryan Herrboldt*, Megan Hetterick, Austin Heuer**~, Drake Hevey**, Charlotte Hexom, Mckinsey Hickman, Reece Hickman*~, Andries Hillebregt, Alec Hills**~, Jason Hilst, Angela Hipsag***~, Steven Hipsag*, Kathleen Hogan**, Maggie Hohlen**, Krystal Holby*, Garrett Holland*, Alexander Holm**~, Gina Honek**~, Ali Hopkins**, Micah Howard*, Keaton Huberty**~, Elizabeth Hudson, McKenzie Humphrey*, Jarred Jack, Alexa Jacobson, Daniel Janasz**, Jacob Jaremko**, John Jarmoluk, Loganalaric Jerome, Angel Jex, Benjamin Johnson, Bryce Johnson, Carley Johnson**, Tristan Johnson, Tucker Johnson, Amber Jones, Peter Jones***, Gabriella Jung**~, Kyle Jung**, Austin Junker*, Kloey Jurkovski, Geneva Kachinske***~, Miranda Kissel, Preston Kittridge, Emily Kliewer, Tucker Kmecik, Brandon Knutson, Connor Knutson*~, Weston Kolles, Adam Konietzko, Kayla Korhonen, Alison Krohn**~, Miranda Krondak, Emily Krueger**~, Miranda Krueger*, Alana Labatt, Cassandra Lane*~, Joshua Larson, Ryan Larson, Sophia LaValley, Roger Le, Hannah Lee**~, Matthew Lee***, Charles Leger, Claire Lerud**~, Theodore Lettein, JiaYuan Li*~, JiaYue Li*~, Hannah Lindberg, Samantha Lindeen*, Sarah Livingston***~, Saul Lopez-DelValle, Cody Louks*, Reggie Lutz, Mariah Lybeck**, Alexis MacArthur*, Jordan Madison*, Nicholas Madsen, Lia Maegi**~, Isabel Maertens**, Joseph Maloney, Alaina Manthey*, Jordan Markey, Reed Marohn**~, Chloe Marquez, Blake Martie**, Jeremy Masley*, Paige Mathewson*~, Amanda Mayne, Madison McChesney*, Krystal McCurdy, Jillian McDonald, Sarah McGrath, Stephen McGuire, Paige McKeown, Molly McQuown***~, Matthew Merkling**~, Devell Miller, Julia Miller**~, Danica Mitchell, Cole Moening**, Hannah Moore**, Allison Morgan, Victoria Morgan**~, Emily Motin***~, Jena Murray, Clara Musselman*, George Nameny*, Ethan Nangle**, Gavin Nelson, Timothy Newcomer*, Kyle Nielsen*, Paule Niemi, Jonathan Niska*, Blake Nordman, Jennifer Nordstrom**~, Justine Nutter, Claire O’Konek**, Taylor Odegard**~, Brian Olson, Sydney Olson**~, Taylor Olson*, Anna Oman, Stephen Opificius, Andrew Osborn, Allaskah Osmondson**, Austin Owens, Shelby Paaverud***~, Tristan Palo, Janelle Pankiewicz, Josie Parker*~, Marissa Parker, Tyler Patnode, Joseph Patterson, Andrea Paulson, Samantha Pawlak*, Kaitlyn Pearson**, Andrew Pederson, Alyssa Petersen, Alicia Peterson, Kari Peterson**, Tyler Peterson*, Daniel Petters**, Wallace Pope, Brandon Popehn, Carly Rausch*, Erin Reiner*, Nicole Remus**, Abigale Rice*, Kaylee Roche**, Paige Rogers**, Anna Rollag*, Miranda Rose, Bailey Rueckert, Ryan Sanders, Taylor Saunders, Hannah Schafer, Ellie Schmitt*, Elizabeth Schmitz**~, Robert Schmitz, Jenna Schrader*, Sarah Schroeder*, Tyler Schrom*, Carter Schunk**, Emily Sederstrom***, Jenna Sederstrom, Jayda Seek*, Tiahna Settambrino, Emily Severin, Kayla Shappell*~, Morgan Shryock**~, Arman Siddique*~, Michaela Simcoe*, Brionna Sink**, Sara Skochenski, Wyatt Slawson, Jeremiah Smith**, Kael Smith, Keaton Smith, Dylan Snyder, Jennifer Sorenson**, Madyson St Germain**~, Erin Stein**, Nicholas Steinert, Alexander Stelk, Mariah Stevens, Dylan Stone, Nicholas Storby, Natalie Strack, Kennedy Strain**~, Jaclyn Studniski**, Laura Sturos**, Madison Sundt, Erin Swaggert, Chelsea Swatkowski, Luke Sweet*, Umair Sajjad Syed, Zachary Syverson*, Tarlee Tarpeh*, Jeffrey Thao*, Emily Thedens**~, Andrew Thompson*, Faith Thompson, Christopher Thorndal**~, Alexandra Thorsen, Nicholas Tillmann**, Delaney Tjepkes, Courtney Tobiason, Chase Townsend*, Emma Trittin**~, Jeremiah Turcotte, Garrett Turnacliff, Andy Vail**~, Katherine VanCamp**, Tabetha VanDeventer, Gausher Vang**, Austin Vdakes, Hannah Verdick*, Joshua Vogel, Kaylah Vogt, Jacob Wakeman*, Dylan Walberg, Karley Walker, Mitchell Weege**~, Andrew Weisgram, Samantha Westgaard, Shannon White*, Sophie Wiitala***, Haley Williams, Nathaniel Williams-Shaw, Samual Wolters, Alec Wosmek**~, Mitchell Wosmek**~, Colette Woyke***, Ashley Wright-Enevoldsen
*3.0-3.50
**3.51-3.99
***4.0 above
~ National Honor Society

Elizabeth Aldrich, Madisen Almich, Taylor Amberg, Sophia Bowers, Hannah Cohn, Nicolas Crowley, Riley Downs, Amanda Hosting, Jessenia Kalstad, Randy Khargie, Miranda Kissel, Jaid Long, Robert Melberg, Quintin Melcher, Branden Nelsen, Taylor Pautzke, Andrew Pierre, Carolyn Seppala, Aaron Skog, Alicia Simonson, Alex Sorteberg, Travis Taylor, Natalie Wendt, Nathaniel Williams-Shaw, Elise Williams

Bennett Ahlm, Cassandra Ahmann, Theresa Ahner, Kassidy Akervik, Madison Almquist, Courtney Andersen, Miranda Anderson, Nicole Anderson, Taylor Anderson, Olivia Anton, Gustavo Aquino, Kelsey Arp, Grant Austin, Joseph Bach, Miranda Bakke, Austin Ball, Alleah Baltzer, Madelyn Barber, Brian Barrera-Cholico, Samuel Bartz, Thomas Baumtrog, Megan Becker, Stephen Begin, Cody Belden, Jordan Belland-Malone, Dakota Bellmore, Ashley Bentz, Tyler Bethke, Makda Biniam, Morgan Blake, Evin Blankenship, Ryan Blasko, Gunnar Bloom, Selina Boateng, Emma Boggs, Adam Bohlman, Justin Bohnsack, Jordan Bond, Jared Booms, Andrew Borchardt, Emily Bourgeois, Eric Braesch, Taycia Brandon, Macayla Braun, Hannah Bremer, Courtney Bridell, Alexandra Broberg, Isaiah Broszko, Vivica Brown, Lucas Broz, Casey Buckingham, Riley Bulow, Caleb Burke, Mackenzie Butenhoff, Branden Cecil, Garrett Cegon, Jason Chamlongsong, Arianna Chasing Hawk, Somphathay Chiengkhamphet, Ashlyn Claseman, Vincenzo Colosimo, Tyler Costello, Alexander Cruse, Amber Dahl, Connor Daly, Nash Dalzell, Destiny Dichiria, Jaclyn Dietl, Dylan Doncaster, Tyler Donnay, Aaron Dorvinen, Megan Droogsma, Cole Eakman, Colin Eldridge-Castanon, Abigail Ellinghausen, Megan Elliott, Jake Erickson, Alex Erikson, Logan Evans, Sydney Fay, Katherine Feilen, Jarrett Fero, Ryan FitzPatrick, Cole Flander, Isaiah Fofanah, Erica Folk, Tyler Franklin, Trenton Frederickson, Erica Freitag, Mikkel Fulkerson, Andrew Garner, Alyx Garrett, Gregory Gaulrapp, Isabel Getta, Alexandra Getz, Chandler Gibbens, Matthew Gigante, Karl Gorecki, Hannah Graffunder, Erik Grandlund, Kaari Grandlund, Dylan Granger, Sprier Granger, Ryan Grauf, Austin Greiner, Hannah Gross, Danielle Grutkoski, Judson Guericke, Randi Guimont, Kaitlyn Gundersen, Gina Gutenberg, Samuel Haapala, Jacob Hanauska, Emily Handshaw, Eric Hansen, Jordon Hanson, Hrystsina Harhun, Jack Hart, Zachary Hathcock, Lucas Hebert, Jacob Hellickson, Samantha Hess, Adam Heyer, Carter Hines, Blake Hinrichs, Sigrid Holmqvist, Aaron Holstein, Lydia Hubert-Peterson, Daniel Hullander, Megan Ibe, Lea Janckila, Tanner Jarmuzek, John Johansen, Wyatt Johansen, Carlie Johnson, Michael Johnson, Samantha Johnson, Drew Jordan, Nicole Juve, Kennedy Kaeding, Paige Kalthoff, Anders Kapsner, Dani Karels, Amkey Karl, Sheila Karl, Samuel Kellar, Dennis Kemmetmueller, Amber Kerr, Heather Kilber, Zachary Kline, Alexander Knoben, Jorden Knock, Carissa Koch, Amanda Koehn, Kiana Koeppe, Christian Kolleh, Kara Korton, Bergen Korva, Abhishek Kosuri, Johnna Kringen, Jenna LaCoursiere, Danielle Laqua, Veronica Lara, Emma Larson, Cassie Launderville, Jared LeClaire, Jordan Lemcke, Lance Lendl, Emily Lengquist, Kayla Lenz, Taylor Leonard, Mary Liberko, Mitchell Liebert, Abbie Lien, Ryan Lind, Dustin Lindberg, Joshua Lindfors, Jack Lindquist, Thomas Lloyd, Riley Louallen, Kelsey Loven, Ellaura Lowe, Holley Lucas, Christian Luckhardt, Jenna Mackowick, Brandon Magnuson, Noah Magnuson, Sam Maki, John Malark, Adina Malin, Wyatt Martin, Henry Martinson, Melisa Mathura, Maissavely Matuscsak-Martinez, Jeffery McClay, Megan Meleen, Alondra Mendez, Benjamin Mercure, Jake Meyer, Mariah Meyer, Nathaniel Meyerdirk, Madison Mikolich, Bailey Miller, Courtney Miller, Alyssa Molnar, Stephanie Moonen, Mara Morrisette, Mitchell Motter, Brittney Moua, Kyle Muenzhuber, Dorcas Mukeba, Emina Muratovic, Cole Murray, Alyssa Mussehl, Megan Myers, Jacob Nardini, Alex Ndege, Neh Ndingwan, Jackson Nelson, Kylan Nelson, Sydney Nelson, An Ngo, Austin Niznik, Brandon Norfolk, Marina Nowak, Alina Nuanthalasy, Sabrina Odegard, Emmanuel Okematti, Adam Olejar, Jacob Olejar, Samantha Olejar, Reilly Othoudt, Ryan Ott, Jacob Owens, Ashlyne Paige, Hannah Palmgren, Carl Parent, Katelyn Parker, Marissa Patnode, Taylor Paulsrud, McKena Peck, Adriauna Perfetti, Blake Peterson, Macy Peterson, Matthew Pierson, Lincoln Pieske, Nathan Pinter, De Shanna Pointer, Jacquelyn Primm, Ryan Puetz, Raaziq Qaasim, Karina Rauenhorst, Caleb Reese, Danielle Reinitz, Rebecca Reiter, Roberta Renneberg, Noah Rerick, Nicholas Reynolds, Michael Rice, Savannah Rice, Jason Roberge, Taylor Roberts, Benjamin Robertson, Brandon Roehl, Luke Rogers, Tyler Rogers, Karrisa Romanowski, Timothy Rozko, Abby Rozmark, Elizabeth Rubbelke, Andrew Rucks, Matthew Runge, Katie Running, Katlyn Runyon, Logan Sabinash, Logan Sandberg, Jordyn Sarvey, Alison Saxton, Kelsey Schaenzer, Alexandra Schaub, Zachary Schiebe, Sophia Schmidt, Laura Schreiber, Mikayla Schreiber, Alec Schultz, Samuel Schutte, Trevor Schwartz, Blake Schweninger, Noah Scott, Jacob Scully, Hannah Sebald, Savannah Seiter, Tyler Shiplet, Alex Shreve, Madison Simonson, Benjamin Skoog, Shane Smith, Nicholas Soberg, Chris Sonderup, Stormy St Vincent, Corie Stadick, Kalley Stanhope, John Stanley, Kristine Stasica, Mitchell Steeves, Tyler Sterner, Ashley Stewart, Rachel Svoboda, Keelie Swafford, Emma Swanson, Zachary Swanson, Tristan Sweet, Dalee Sybrant, Benjamin Sylvester, Darian Sylvester, Alexis Taylor, Kaylee Tegtmeier, Michael Terres, Zachary Theis, Nicholas Thole, Kayla Tousignant, Aaron Trochlil, Anthony Tuttle, Tou Vang, Braily Vasquez, Samantha Vazquez, Kathryn Vecchio, Tyler Vechinski, McKenzie Walczak, Baylee Waldhoff, Madeline Walker, Lauren Wallmow, Alyssa Walton, Connor Wilson, Isabella Wilson, Natalie Winsor, Tristen Witthuhn, Corey Workman, Sydney Yantes, Ethan York, Collin Young, Jessica Young, Mary Kate Zeidler, Alex Zubarev, Hunter Zwack

Makenzie Anderson***+, Josiah Bondy***+^, Dustin Brusletten, Lauren Carlson**, Joshua Clark, Addison Cross***+, Theodore Cullen*+, Costanza Maria Vittoria Dalla Valentina, Ariel Doherty, Shaun Gilyard*, Nash Gleason*^, Rachael Goldsmith**+^, Christina Grasso*, Levina Hagebaum, Megan Hassing***, Meghan Hays, Alison Henkemeyer***^, Danielle Hennies, Sarah Holm, Helena Hubenthal, Ross Ilstrup*, Jessyca Kantor, Danielle Keiner*, Jordan Keller, Ka-Eun Kim, Nicholas Kopp+, Jessica Kraus**, Austin Kurilla, Gary Leshovsky Jr., Preston Loewenstein*, Benjamin Maki**+, Martin Mayer*, Molly Mitchell***, Maycie Morgan***, Timothy Mueller***+^, Rachel Neiss, Thea Nyborg, Brenna Olson***^, Elliott Petersen, Andrew Porter, Ashlynne Preston***^, Namora Pulungan, Caleb Rieck, Christian Rieck, Ludwig Robitschko, Steffen Salfrank, Meghan Schroeder***+^, Marie Schuldt, Reid Schumacher, Jason Sommerstad, Carter Thorson, Mason Todd*, Elliot Uecker*, Brittney Waterhouse, Dakota Woolhouse

*Cum Laude (GPA 3.300-3.599), White Tassel
**Magna Cum Laude (GPA 3.600-3.799), Gold Tassel
***Summa Cum Laude (GPA 3.800-4.000), White and Gold Tassel
+National Honor Society Member
^Outstanding Student Scholar Purple Tassel

Hailey Artmann*, Jacob Astrup**, Zackary Backlund*, Matthew Bendtsen, Jena Bjergo*, Cami Bond, Natalie Borg, Max Breyen, Joseph Briggs**, Olivia Brimmer**^, Kelsie Buck, Ashley Buss, Jonathan Cameron, Abigail Canton**^, Cassandra Carley, Nancy Chen**^, Mikayla Crawford, Jacob Crestik*, Kaitlyn Dallmann, Cassidy Davey, Lance Davis***^, Keely DeYonge, Matthew Dorso*, Ashleigh Dupuis, Samantha Edwards, Bailey Engelkes, Taylor Engelkes, Aiden Estridge, April Fore, Star Gray, Bethanie Greene, Erik Gruhlke**, Cody Hanson, Justin Hartman*, Kelly Heins, Hannah Hendrickson, Tanner Hermanson***, James Hiatt, Emilie Horvath**^, Jordyn Horvath, Katlin Iacono, Reid Inman*, Madeline Jacob***^, Matthew Jacobson**^, Alyssa James, Madison James, Benjamin Jensen, Danielle Johnson***^, Nicole Jurik**^, Anna Kennedy, Nicole Keskey*, Chelsea Kimpton*, Wayne Kinney***, Brian Kosak, Patrick Kossila**, Tiffany LaFontaine*, Eric Lamm-Olson, Brooke Larson-Vandeberg, Tessa Lasserre**, Kassidy Laxdal, Michael Leaser, Lindsey Leska, Megan Lewis*, Marissa Luing***, Jacob Martin**, Taylor Mattson, Austin May*, Brittany McArthur, Jeremiah McIalwain, Keith Medenwaldt, Tristan Mello, Trista Miller*, Trenton Mitchell, Kylynn Morgan, Bradley Morin, Lee Muellenbach**^, Rachel Mueller**, Heather Nagengast*, Brianna Nelson**, Andrew Nixon, Mark Nochez, Bailey O’Neil, Alexis Olerich, Nicholas Olinger**^, Trig Olsen, Zachary Olson, Janessa Ortberg**, Jason Osowski*, Tad Payeur*, Brennen Pederson**, MaKayla Petersen, Ashley Peterson, Lindsey Peterson, Emily Phillips*, Jace Pink*, Monica Pinke, Elizabeth Pouliot**^, Devin Quigley, Mackenzie Riley*, Cole Rockstroh, Katelynn Rogers, Madelon Roisum*, Ashley Ryding*^, Madalynn Rymer**^, Amanda Sahr, Brooke Salo**, Shannon Schlee, Taylor Schmit, Camille Schreiner**, William Schwartz, Shelby Sevre, Stephanie Shaver, Heidi Slayton, Jaime Smith, Savaana St. John, Sabrina Steinke, Alexis Stepan**^, Madison Stoll, Parker Sturlaugson**^, Savannah Sutherland, Karly Syverson**^, Logan Thompson, Julia Ward, Tayler Wawrzyniak, Alex Weber, Cletis Weitnauer, Dane Werner**^, Jacob West, Austin Wiemeri*, Caitlyn Wilbur**^, Nathan Wiley, Derek Williams*, Karli Williams*, Abigail Wisness**, Tannor Witt**

***4.0 and above (Gold Tassel)
**3.50-3.99 (Gold Tassel)
*3.0-3.49 (White Tassel)
^National Honor Society

In 2014 Elk River High School’s Student Council championed the Legacy Project, an effort to increase the recognition of high school seniors who have significantly contributed to the school. Seven awards for excellence have been created to recognize the remarkable accomplishments of select seniors. The winners each received a Legacy Wall Certificate and a plaque displayed on the pillars at the entrance of the school.

Mitchell Weege

Elk Award

Mitchell Weege was involved in National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, soccer, basketball and track. He was an Academic All-State in Basketball as well as a two-year captain.

“In all my years of coaching at Elk River, Mitchell has displayed the highest level of character of any athlete that I’ve had the honor of working with. Honesty, integrity, caring, dedicated, giving, all are words that define and describe Mitchell’s character,” said basketball coach Randy Klasen.

Jordan Haack

Valedictorian   

Jordan Haack was the 2015 Elk River High School valedictorian. Haack was on an Elks Math Team which placed third in the nation in the Moody’s Math Challenge as well as state math champion in 2015. Haack is a lettering member of the Elk River tennis team and a state participant.

He was also on the high school’s knowledge bowl team.

“Jordan is extremely hard-working and determined. He expects the best from himself and does not settle for anything less than that. He is diligent, patient and driven,” said Advanced Placement literature teacher Allison Harmer.

Class president 

Ryan Herrboldt

Ryan Herrboldt was the 2015 senior class president.

He coordinated the homecoming and Snow Week pep fests as well as ran the Change Challenge fundraiser.

Herrboldt was a two-year DECA competitor. He participated in a few different events; however, he saw much success in the Retail Merchandising Series role play event. He was an international competitor both his junior and senior years — making it in the top 20 (out of 200) as an event finalist.  He also served as the vice president of community relations his senior year for the school’s DECA chapter.

Esteemed female athlete 

Taylor Odegard

Taylor Odegard was captain of the Elk River girls swimming and diving team in the 2014-15 school year. Throughout her career, she was a five-time varsity letter winner and two-time team MVP. Odegard is a two-time school record holder, two-time section record holder and an eight-time pool record-breaker. She was also a member of the Elk River High School prom squad, a LINK Leader, an IMPACT leader, National Honor Society member, academic letter winner, DECA state finalist, Spanish Club member, and Project Lead Manager for the DECA Tackle Cancer Week.

Esteemed  male athlete 

Jake Jaremko

Jake Jaremko was the 2015 Mr. Hockey for the state of Minnesota as well as the 2015 USA Today National Player of the Year. As captain of the Elks hockey team, Jake had 73 career goals and 120 career assists. He was the team’s 2015 MVP and made all-conference for all four years of high school play and was a member or Elk River High School’s IMPACT leadership program.

Distinguished performing artist

James Bounds has been a member of the Speech Team for three years, advancing to state twice, and was the Section 7AA Duo Champion in 2015. Bounds was speech team captain his

James Bounds

senior year and also serves as a peer coach.

Bounds has also been a four-year member of the drama department, starring in many shows including last fall’s “Charley’s Aunt.”

He was the Elk River High School’s news co-anchor for the 2014-15 school year and is described as very well-rounded in all performing arts.

Distinguished visual artist

Samantha Hendricks

Samantha “Sam” Hendricks has taken multiple art courses at Elk River High School, including Clay 1 & 2, Graphics, and Drawing 1. Hendricks was selected for her work ethic and creative problem-solving skills. Hendricks is a dedicated artist looking toward a future utilizing the arts through graphic design.