by Trevor Hass
Sports Reporter
An online Chinese class gone awry nearly spiraled Jen Koehler out of valedictorian contention. Or so she thought at the time.
“I was like, ‘That’s the end of it all,’” Koehler said, smiling. “Stupid online Chinese.”
That was her sophomore year, and that was the only A- the Elk River valedictorian got in a semester throughout all of high school. She earned an ‘A’ second semester and an A overall in the course, and now, two years later, Koehler has a 4.191 GPA and is at the top of her class.
She also shined on the tennis and speech teams, and next year she plans to play tennis and major in something science-related at Macalaster College. Grades matter to Koehler, but not as much as the value of learning itself, which is a hobby she’s had ever since she first dove into a book as a kid.
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“The impression I always get is that she works hard because she wants to know and she wants to understand,” Koehler’s speech coach and English teacher, Allison Harmer, said. “She values the knowledge itself, and the grades will come with it and take care of themselves. She’s able to focus on the right things and not get caught up in how many points something is.”
One way Koehler is able to keep her mind fresh is by going to bed around 9 p.m. every night. While many of her classmates stay up doing homework or other activities, Koehler goes to sleep. If she has more work to finish, she’ll leave it to the morning and wrap it up then.
“I realized early on that all my homework I did after 9 was kind of crap,” she said, “so the morning was better.”
Koehler said she was passionate about freshman English, human geography and biology. In biology in particular, she said she benefited from Mike Niziolek’s unique, hands-on style of teaching.
She enjoyed the class so much she said she may want to get into something biology-related long term. Koehler isn’t sure exactly what she wants to do professionally, but she’s optimistic she’ll find something she loves – maybe some sort of research – and sink her teeth into it.
While many athletes struggle to maintain good grades while also playing a sport, Koehler mastered that craft early in her high school career. During the fall, she said she grew to appreciate her tight schedule because it helped her not procrastinate. When time was of the essence, she’d complete homework assignments after a long day of school, practice and sometimes teaching tennis.
In speech, Harmer said Koehler served as a peer coach, leader and mentor, and she taught younger competitors everything she knows. Harmer said Koehler single-handedly helped another student get to state with the work she did.
Harmer also had Koehler for two years in English class, and in both English and speech, Harmer said she’s seen Koehler blossom into a more confident, self-assured person.
Koehler’s past is decorated, but her future awaits.
