From the football field to the stage, from volunteering as tutors to serving in leadership roles, these young men and women bring something special to everything they do. There’s no “senior slide” in their vocabulary; they’re ready to hit the ground running this fall as they prepare for the next step after high school.
Grace Killeen
New Life Academy
Extracurriculars: National Honor Society (vice president), student council, 4-H (club president, youth leadership award, county and state champion), hippology (equine science knowledge team–reigning state individual and team champion), drama, mission trips, summer research with a Hamline biology professor on DNA cloning and analysis.
GPA: 4.2.
Hardest class: AP Physics. It’s a very technically demanding class that has pushed me to wrestle with concepts in order to understand them.
Favorite class: Spanish. It’s helped me appreciate the grammar and order found in languages.
Favorite high school memory: All the fun times spent hanging out and goofing off during rehearsals for our school’s musicals. Our cast has become a second family to me.
Colleges you are eyeing: Baylor University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Creighton University.
Career plans: I aspire to be a doctor who is bilingual in Spanish and can take my expertise into the mission field.
Advice for incoming freshmen: Never underestimate the impact that your friends can have on your high school experience. You may think that being a good student should be your top priority, but being a friend who supports and loves others is equally important.
One word to describe yourself: Musical. I have grown up loving to sing and play music.
A surprising thing about me: I have five brothers and sisters, and eight nieces and nephews.
What I do for fun: I love to spend time with my horse, play piano, flute and ukulele, sing and read books.
Something you can’t live without: Music. I listen to music every day; it’s my way to unwind and focus. My day is dull without music, and I can’t do my homework without it.
Something you can live without: My phone. I find that my phone serves as a distraction from engaging in the world around me.
Morgan Giese
Hill-Murray School
Extracurriculars: Varsity soccer (captain), president of National Honor Society, quiz bowl, math team, peer tutor, symphonic and pep bands, Hill-Murray Pingoneers (ping-pong team).
GPA: 4.19.
Hardest class: CIS/Honors U.S. History. There are a lot of long readings to do for the class.
Favorite class: AP/Honors Calculus BC. Math is my favorite subject, and I find calculus extremely interesting.
Favorite high school memory: Going to “Escape the Room” in Minneapolis with my friends. They are rooms in which you have to solve multiple puzzles to escape in less than 60 minutes.
Colleges you are eyeing: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Yale University, Stanford University.
Career plans: I’m interested in math and physics, so I would like to do something in those fields—maybe something in the field of astrophysics.
Advice for incoming freshmen: Don’t procrastinate! Getting all homework done right away is a big advantage.
One word to describe yourself: Loyal. I take my commitments very seriously and do everything 110 percent, whether it’s with my friends, extracurricular activities, schoolwork or my faith.
A surprising thing about me: I am a pretty good ping pong player. I own a table at my house and play every day. I’m even part of the school club.
What I do for fun: I enjoy going out in the yard and playing soccer with my siblings. I also love to get together with my friends and go to movies or hang out at each other’s houses.
Something you can’t live without: Cheese ravioli. I firmly believe that it’s the best food on the planet.
Something you can live without: Having quizzes or tests in school, but unfortunately I don’t think my teachers would be okay with that.
Trenten Sayles
Woodbury High School
Extracurriculars: Varsity soccer (captain), club soccer (captain), varsity track, student council board member, Youth Adversary Council, Link Crew, National Honor Society, National Arts Honor Society, gymnastics manager, Spanish club president, volunteer tutor for a third-grader at Red Rock Elementary School.
GPA: 4.26.
Hardest class: AP Biology. Even though I find the content interesting, the tests aren’t the easiest.
Favorite class: AP U.S. History. I love learning about the Civil War, 1920s and World War II.
Favorite high school memory: The homecoming dance.
Colleges you are eyeing: Stanford University.
Career plans: Become a lawyer.
Advice for incoming freshmen: Learn how to walk correctly in the hallway—walk fast and on the right side.
One word to describe yourself: Competitive, because I hate losing at anything.
A surprising thing about me: I finished all nine seasons of The Office in one summer.
What I do for fun: I play soccer, hang out with my friends and learn flips with the gymnastics team.
Something you can’t live without: As bad as it sounds, my phone.
Something you can live without: I can live without homework.
MaryKate Schoonover
Visitation School
Extracurriculars: Cross country (captain), track and field, Full Circle (a student-run theatre production), band, junior class council president, Ashland Productions musicals.
GPA: 4.08.
Hardest class: Spanish. It involves a lot of reading and historical content, but it is also in a different language, so that makes it even more difficult.
Favorite class: English. I love to read, and I like discussing things I read with people in my class.
I especially like American Literature, because there is a history aspect as well.
Favorite high school memory: Qualifying and running in the state cross country meet because it was a huge goal of mine and the support from my friends, family, coaches and teammates was unreal.
Colleges you are eyeing: I’m still looking, but I’ve visited Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame and Boston College.
Career plans: I’m really interested in film and television production.
Advice for incoming freshmen: Never rule anything out. You never know if you will change your mind about joining an activity or hanging out with someone. Keep an open mind.
One word to describe yourself: Outgoing. I like spending time with people, having fun and talking.
A surprising thing about me: I am a huge football fan. I love watching the Green Bay Packers.
What I do for fun: I like being in musicals, playing the ukulele, spending time with my friends and running, especially with my dad or my friends.
Something you can’t live without: Spotify. I listen to music all the time.
Something you can live without: Pop. I am not a huge fan of drinking pop.
