Four Outstanding Woodbury High School Students

Jake Knupp East Ridge High School   Jake Knupp knows that hard work pays off over time. It’s one of the many lessons he’s earned from basketball. “Ever since I started playing basketball, I work on my skills,” Knupp says. “Hard work is a bridge between where you are now and where you want to be and I have not reached my potential yet.” The point guard started playing basketball at a developmental clinic through the Woodbury Athletic Association. Both of his parents played basketball. “I just really enjoyed the feel of a basketball in my hands,” Knupp says. He went on to win the Raptor Award as a freshman at East Ridge while playing on the sophomore team. Knupp also plays cornerback on the football team. “The first thing that attracted me to […] team sports was I got to play with my friends.”   Hold on to your hats: Knupp is also in the National Honor Society, East Ridge Ambassadors, church youth group and Student Leadership Cohort. As for senior year, watch out: Knupp plans to win the state championship in basketball. A Typical Day Morning Routine: I have French toast or eggs for breakfast.   After School: I go to basketball or football practice. Once I get home, I unwind by watching TV. Evening Routine: I start my homework after dinner. I go to bed at about 11:30 p.m. and get ready for another day! School: AP Calculus AP Language and Composition Spanish AP U.S. History Medical Interventions AP Chemistry—My favorite subject is science. Student of the Term—I was named the “student of the term” as a sophomore and have been on the honor roll every trimester. I also have maintained above a 4.0 GPA.    Kyle LintonNew Life Academy  The phrase “triple threat” may be overused but not in the case of Kyle Linton. He is a three-sport athlete—soccer basketball, track— and he excels in each one. “I’ve been playing sports all my life, starting with basketball, football and baseball,” Linton says. “I switched to track in 8th grade to try something new. I enjoy pushing myself to see what I am able to accomplish with my own abilities.”Linton has been playing basketball since he was three years old. “I love the friendships that I have made with my teammates,” he says. “It is great having unity within a team.” Linton tried out for soccer and loved it; he picked it up quickly and plans to play again next year. A member of the National Honor Society, Kyle Linton has been at New Life literally since birth. His dad is New Life’s varsity boys’ basketball coach and his mom works in New Life’s childcare department. Linton is also the junior president of the Student Council, and, surprise: is crazy about musicals. He has been in his school’s productions of West Side Story, Beauty and the Beast and Hello Dolly. A Typical Day Morning Routine: I get up slowly, around 6:30 a.m., and eat a bowl of Life cereal, my favorite.   After School: I go to practice for whatever season it is. In the fall, I have soccer practice and then I go to drama practice. When I’m lucky and have no homework, I relax with some casual video game playing, TV, or watching random videos on YouTube. Evening Routine I do homework after dinner and a long nap. Homework is not too bad unless I have a paper to write or AP Chemistry to finish. I go to bed around 12:30 a.m. School Course load—Spanish III, Classical World History, CIS (College in the Schools) Bible, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, PSEO Medical Terminology — I want to maintain a challenging academic year while focusing on things that I can do outside of the classroom, like volunteering and extra-curricular activities AP Chemistry and AP Biology—my favorite subject is science   Grace Rogers Woodbury High School Grace Rogers is fast. She’s a soccer star, a sprinter on the track team, and all the while has maintained a GPA of 4.3. “Everyone plays soccer when they're preschool-aged and for me it just clicked and I stuck with it,” Rogers recalls. “I was fast and loved competition, so I decided to try track and see if I liked it.”             Rogers started on the varsity soccer team in her sophomore year and earned all-conference. In her junior year she was voted captain. The track team was equally rewarding for Rogers: she earned all-conference in four events, competed at state in three events, earned all-state honors in two events, and broke the school record for one event.             “My favorite thing about playing soccer is the competition. It makes me strive to do well and outcompete my components,” says Rogers. “Competing is one of my favorite things and [it] gives me the motivation to do anything.”             This year Rogers is taking a College in the Schools (CIS) class and two AP classes. Her extracurricular escapades include Fellowship of Christian Athletes, National Honors Society, German Club, and German Honors Society. This summer she’s looking forward to as much time as possible with friends and a ton of time playing soccer. A Typical Day Morning Routine: I sleep in as long as possible before dragging myself out of bed. For breakfast I like my favorite cereal: cinnamon toast crunch After School: I have track from 3:30–5:30 but this year […] I’m only able to be a manager for the girls track team. After practice I drive home and eat dinner. I don’t have any sports in the winter so I go home and relax—usually by going on the computer or taking a nap  Evening Routine: I drive to Stillwater for my soccer club team's practice from 8–10 p.m. I start my homework at 10:30 p.m.  I work on homework basically until I fall asleep School: AP classes—I’ve taken eight, including AP US History, AP Language and Composition Favorite subjects—math and science; the classes I’ve enjoyed the most in high school have been AP Statistics, AP Biology, and AP Calculus Senior slide—I hope to maintain my current GPA and try to avoid letting senior slide set in too bad    Kirsten Mayer Math and Science Academy Kirsten Mayer refers to herself as a “weather nerd,” a modest moniker that doesn’t begin to capture her breathtaking range of achievements. She maintains a GPA of 4.0, won the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence for two years in a row, and has been part of the National Honor Society since 2011. She also takes classes at the University of Minnesota, sings with the MSA Choir and Madrigal Choir, participates in theater productions, is a member of Partners in Praise Girls Choir, and serves as the Tri-M Music Honor Society secretary.               Mayer’s foremost hobby is—guess what—weather watching. She attended a weather camp last summer at Penn State University where she got to forecast and draw different types of weather maps with fellow weather nerds.             Singing is another beloved hobby; two years ago, Mayer’s choir went to Australia and was featured at the Sydney Opera House. This summer, Partners in Praise Girls Choir will hit Italy. Kirsten-the-weather-nerd will also have the opportunity to shadow Fox 9’s chief meteorologist, Ian Leonard.   A Typical Day Morning Routine: 6 a.m. I wake up and eat oatmeal or cereal. After School: Homework. On Mondays I leave for choir at 5:30 p.m. and arrive home around 9 p.m.; Tuesday, I attend MSA choir until 3 p.m. and then go to the NHS meeting every other Tuesday. On Thursdays I help lead the Tri-M meeting before the Madrigal/Show choir rehearsal. Evening Routine: On Friday I volunteer at Stonecrest [senior living facility] and then it’s relaxation— hang[ing] with my friends and read[ing] weather articles.  School: Third-world Literature and Beginning Spanish II—I leave at 7:30 a.m. to attend these classes at the University of Minnesota. CIS Physics—I enjoy my CIS physics class the most. I took this class for the rigor, but also for my love of weather; it is a great beginning university physics course that will help prepare me for a future major in meteorology. EconomicsCIS Calculus