Between sports, clubs, jobs, volunteering—and, of course, schoolwork—teenagers seem to be busier than ever these days. We caught up with nine of the area’s brightest high school seniors (nominated by their teachers and administrators) for our annual Prep Elite feature, to find out more about their lives, both in and out of the classroom.
Arnav Khandelwal
Math and Science Academy
What are your plans for after high school?
My plan is to attend a four-year university to study business. Some schools that I’m interested in include the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin. My dream job is to eventually become a successful CEO of a company or to make my own startup.
What’s one thing your peers might not know about you?
My name, Arnav, means ocean.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of getting the lead in the school musical, All Shook Up.
Hannah Frazer
Math and Science Academy
What’s your dream job?
My dream job would be working as a lawyer, especially in family or criminal law. My plans after high school are to move onto college and eventually to law school.
If you were running for president, who would you choose as your running mate?
I’d choose my best friend, Kerstin. She’s very organized, understanding and kind. She makes up the traits that I lack, and we work well as a team. We’ve been best friends since preschool, and I know she’s one of the people who I can count on in life.
What band do you most want to see in concert?
I’d want to see the original One Direction members perform. Although I’ve seen them several times, I’ve never seen them live with all of the original members.
Jack Schwartz
Hill-Murray School
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I got the Excellence in Honors Geometry award. Only two of the top geometry students from their entire year get it, so it’s out of 150-plus students. I thought it was really cool to receive that.
What’s one thing your peers may not know about you?
Not many people know how much I like to cook and bake. When I was younger, my uncle Al taught me how to make these special Swedish pancakes that are sort of like crepes.
What musician do you most want to see in concert?
Cole Swindell.
(Left to right: Julia Borner, Leah Restad, Jackson George)
Julia Borner
New Life Academy
What’s your favorite high school memory?
My favorite memories are definitely from theater, but more specifically, being blessed to play Wendy in our most recent show, Peter Pan. The amazing director, cast and overall experience have made it the best thing about high school so far.
If you could create one mandatory class for future seniors at your school, what would it be?
I’d create one similar to home economics but to a more extreme level: combining cooking and cleaning skills, financial support, learning how to change a tire, self-defense, etc., so that when we leave at the end of the year, we’d be able to have the basic but important life skills down.
What makes you unique?
My ability to stand firm in what I believe and not letting the crowd sway me. I believe that I have a strong moral compass that allows me to be fair and objective in issues that could be viewed as gray.
Leah Restad
East Ridge High School
What makes you unique?
I love to be involved and join clubs. That way, I meet a variety of people and always have a friend to sit by.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of starting the PWER district-wide book club. We’ve even been visited by best-selling authors like Allen Eskens and Brian Freeman.
What’s your favorite high school memory?
Going to Hawaii with the District 833 marching band. We visited Pearl Harbor and performed in the Waikiki Holiday Parade.
Jackson George
New Life Academy
What makes you unique?
I’d say one thing is my work ethic, and my courage and confidence to stand up and say hard things.
What’s your dream job?
My dream job is to either be an engineer or to do ministry work.
If you could create one mandatory class for future seniors at your school, what would it be?
I’d create a mandatory speech class. I think it’s very important to learn how to get up in front of other people and give a talk about something you’re passionate about. In the culture we’re in today, people are becoming less courageous about speaking and communicating to others, and I feel like a speech class would help change this.
(Left to right: Nick Basten, Nadia Franzen, Maria Soutor)
Nick Basten
East Ridge High School
What teacher has made the biggest impact on you?
Mrs. Berg was my Principles of Biomedical Sciences teacher my freshman year. Every day, I’d look forward to her class, because she always made it interesting, and you could talk to her about anything, because she’d always be there for support. I remember everyone was sad during her last year of teaching, myself included, because she felt more like a friend than a teacher.
If you could create one mandatory class for future seniors at your school, what would it be?
A personal finance class to teach students money management skills and how to do taxes—it would help a lot of students once their school career is over.
What band do you most want to see in concert?
I’d love to see either Guns and Roses or AC/DC. I love working out to classic rock, and it would be super fun to actually see a classic rock concert.
What’s one thing your peers don’t know about you?
I’m a World War II fanatic. I love researching and watching TV series and movies based on the events in World War II. Some of my favorites include Band of Brothers and The Pacific.
Nadia Franzen
Woodbury High School
What’s your dream job?
Music therapy or at least something music-related. I want to help people with disabilities and mental illnesses and alleviate the complications they feel in life. I believe it’s important to promote happiness and personal growth in a creative, stress-free environment.
What’s one thing your peers might not know about you?
It’s a cliché to say that everyone has to face their own demons, but there’s an immense amount of truth in that for me. Yes, I’ve found success in theater and speech, but beyond the music notes and speech suits, sometimes I need to take a step back for my mental health. Nobody can be perfect, even as much as I wish for that
to be true.
If you were running for president, who would you choose as your running mate?
I’d choose Senator Amy Klobuchar. She inspires young women to be involved in leadership roles and would bring experience to my ticket.
Maria Soutor
Hill-Murray School
What teacher has made the biggest impact on you?
My Spanish teacher, Señora Bush. I’ve had her in class for a couple years, and she’s always been incredibly nice to me. She knows a lot of my family members, so she’ll always stop me in the hallway to catch up and see how everyone is doing. It’s really nice to have a teacher who I know cares about me.
What’s one thing your peers might not know about you?
I’m definitely an outgoing person! I love to talk and meet new people, but I also have a more introverted side. I like my alone time, and I can be very inquisitive.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Last year, I made the all-section team for softball. I’m very passionate about the sport, so it was nice to get that recognition and feel like my hard work had paid off.
Special Thanks
To the James J. Hill Center for the use of their library for this photo shoot.
