These Students Go Above and Beyond

March 4, 2019

As of 2018-2019 school year Prairie Ridge High School’s Industry, Careers and Wellness division began a new movement to feature students who had shown promise either in the workshop, lab or classroom. These students showed great work effort and helped others while being a role model in the classroom environment. Follow the department’s new hashtag #pricw to see the updates.

Mr. Koeppen, teacher and head of the division, elaborated further on this project. “We wanted to help recognize students who went above and beyond, to feature more students who also deserve some of the spotlight for their effort and rigor rather than just their academic standing.”

Here are some of the compliments paid to students by the teachers who selected them for Student of the Month:

Joe Pokonosky, selected by Mr. Low – “he is always kind and respectful to his peers and teachers and his quality of work is excellent.”

Sean Hutton, selected by  Mr. Low – “before going to the ER, he made sure his group was covered for their project.”

Amanda Mueller, selected by Mr. Low – “Amanda never gives up with technical situations in CAD and she is not afraid to challenge you to do your best.”

TJ Cooper, selected by Mr. Low – “He dedicates 3 class periods a day to the lab and is both a huge help as a senior leader and both to me and my 8th period engineering class.”

Alex Tucker, selected by Mr. Low – “he’s got a great attitude and is always positive. He’s always wanting to contribute. He helps out and does things without asking and is a real asset to me and his class.”

Peter Blanchard, selected by Mr. Low – “during our makerspace renovation, Peter dedicated his own time painting, building, organizing and running electric and is an asset and a natural born leader.”

Steele Blew, selected by Mr. Andredjek – “One of the sanders were down and I challenged Steele to see if he could make adjustments and fix it and he did and in class he always shows lots of effort into his work.”

Brittney Shabino, selected by Mr. Andrejek – “In Woods everyone has a job, and hers is a foreman which is a really tough one but she manages well and works hard.”

Gustavo Hernandez, selected by Mr. Andredjek – “he does his work well and has some fun too. He hardly ever complains and really proves well in class.”

Nathan Shutters, selected by Mr. Koeppen – “you come to class everyday, your ready to work, you listen, you do what your supposed to, and on your EDD project you went out of your way and contacted people outside of the building to get expert opinions.”

Hannah David, selected by Mr. Koeppen – “she’s gotten so incredibly good, at flying her drone. First couple of weeks were really shaky, but she’s gotten really good at it through practice and hard work.”

Chris Adrowski, selected by Mr. Koeppen – “you are a hard worker that always comes to class with a smile on your face and a positive attitude.”

Erick Miller, selected by Mr. Koeppen – “it’s fun to have you in class everyday. You make me laugh and always working hard in Robotics and drones.”

Alex Powers, selected by Mr. Koeppen – “you show up on time, you always bring the work your supposed to bring in, you never forget anything except for “catchers masks,” and you always come to class everyday ready.”

Austin Kempf, selected by Mrs. Eschman – “he’s always so kind and cheerful and always helpful around in class.”

Camryn Spreitzer, Zach Bloomfield, Morgan Meyer, Jacquelyn Schufman, Dora Quigley, Bailey Salvo, Camille Drain, Bjorn Held, all selected by Mr. Karlblom – “kept up with their class work and always showed effort in class. And outside of school they all had positive reviews on their work performance.”

Since the very start of the year and with the movement going strong, this division hopes that their project sets an example and spreads to other departments, schools, districts, or even perhaps other states across the country.