Jada Schimke has experienced the difference a dedicated teacher can make. In grade school, Schimke struggled with learning. She took on extra classes, after-school programs, summer school, tutoring, speech therapy, and more and hasn’t forgotten the teacher who supported her on her journey.

 

A senior at Maple Grove High School, Schimke is a natural with her students. Schimke plans to become a teacher herself in the future; she will attend The University of Minnesota - Crookston to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and, someday, earn her Master’s. Today, in addition to her studies, responsibilities as a member of the National Honor Society, and work in the classroom at New Horizon, she has already worked to earn her Child Development Associate certification (CDA).

 

Schimke will carry her experiences with her as she finishes high school and prepares for college on the journey to teaching in a classroom of her own. 

In 2018, Simon Moreno was chosen to attend Grey Wolf, a National Youth Leadership training camp for the Boy Scouts. It was a week-long excursion of learning, leadership and growing together with other scouts to become a better leader. His experience with his own Eagle Scout Project and staffing Grey Wolf/NYLT show that Moreno is no stranger to giving back to his community. 

 

His 2019 Eagle Scout project consisted of building and painting theatre cube boxes for Birch Grove Elementary School in Brooklyn Park. Moreno led a group of 20 people through the construction process and with the help of friends, troop members, and adult mentors, on January 2, 2019, he earned the highest rank of Eagle Scout. 

 

Moreno has been a part of several robotics teams, even representing Park Center in the State tournament in 2021. He served as president of the Student Advisory Committee (SAC), National Honor Society, Symphony Orchestra, and will play as a member of the NWSC All-Conference Orchestra this coming year. 

 

In the future, Moreno plans to continue his education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, focusing on environmental and outdoor education. Leading into it, he plans to spend this summer working at the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base for the Boy Scouts of America in the Florida Keys. 

“I realized that events like these are the ones that shape into the people we are meant to be.”

 

Aisatou Dara Mane’s words reflect a wisdom that comes with understanding what it is to carry grief. When she was 13 years old, her father, Mamadu Mane, was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer. Soon, fifteen-hour days at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester became standard and the shape of her life shifted, too. 

 

While she and her brother took on more responsibility, growing up even faster, one thing didn’t change: their parents’ emphasis on the importance of education. 

 

Through that experience, the trajectory of Mane’s life changed. While she’d always known she wanted to study in the medical field, she didn’t know what she wanted to specialize in - until her dad’s diagnosis. 

 

Mane plans to pursue her undergraduate degree in molecular and cellular biology and one day become a cancer researcher. Her goals include developing less invasive, more effective cancer treatments that are accessible regardless of socioeconomic status. 

 

She imagines a world where a stage-four cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence and carries her father’s memory as an inspiration to make a difference in her community and - one day - the world.

Bella Vandervegt has an entrepreneur’s spirit. Three years ago, she took on working two jobs - one at an after-school care program and another at a local family-owned ice cream shop where she planned to save money for college. She also babysat on the side. 

 

The way her employers at Cullens brought their business to life inspired Vandevegt. In the winter of 2020, she took the leap into her own entrepreneurial adventure – thrifting clothing. 

 

Passionate about fashion, style, creativity, and business, Vandervegt approaches Goodwill like a treasure chest. An avid lover of their “Dollar Per Pound” sales where customers buy clothes by the pound, Vandervegt often discovered that the cute, trendy clothes she found weren’t her size. Immediately, her mission surfaced: “Why not try to start my own business reselling clothes to a demographic other than myself?”

 

Today, in addition to her jobs and courses as a full-time PSEO student at North Hennepin Community College, Vandervegt is focused on executing her business plan, which includes shopping, photography, mending clothing items, posting on eBay, and keeping track of her expenses. She’s recently expanded as she is selling multiple items daily and is shifting her focus to her social media presence on platforms like Instagram. 

 

Vandervegt plans to pursue a double major in entrepreneurship and business and to someday own a brick-and-mortar thrift boutique where she can hone her passion while creating jobs for others.

Erin Judd isn’t afraid of trailblazing to discover her passions and pursue her dreams. While she considered herself shy as a child, she credits her large extended family for helping shape her into the bold, confident, and resilient individual she is today.

 

In addition to her family’s support, Judd shared how influential her relationship with piano really was in carving her character. While she acknowledges the challenge the piano presented - she even begged her parents to quit - she recognizes its impact as something more. 

 

“It is powerfully true that music has been one of the biggest constants in my life. Through tumultuous friendships, health issues, and academic stress, I can always return to the piano to cope,” she explains.

 

Judd will apply that same dedication to pursuing a degree in public relations and advertising from Loyola University in Chicago where she’ll bring her passion for communication and brand representation to the next level. Until then, she will be hard at work with her communication responsibilities as historian for the National Honor Society, which includes managing their social media accounts as well and digging into messaging on the political front as a student in the Concurrent Enrollment Government & Citizenship college course. 

Josephina Moden faced a difficult journey from her earliest days as a student, experiencing severe social anxiety that impacted her learning environment in significant ways. In those years, Moden couldn’t understand why subjects and concepts seemed so easy for her peers to excel in, while she struggled with the basics. 

 

During an assembly at the beginning of her high school journey, something shifted in Moden as the teachers explained how much your high school experience could impact your future goals. From that day forward, Moden worked hard on her study skills and made sure she asked for help any time she needed it. The shift became evident in not only her approach to learning her coursework, but her grades, too, and today, Moden can truly say she loves learning.

 

She’s followed her passion for learning and has let it fuel her work on the National Honor Society, Student Council, Debate Club, Speech Team, Link Crew, and many more extracurriculars and groups in her school community. 

 

Moden plans to pursue biomedical engineering with a minor in biology and has been accepted to several colleges in Minnesota and North Dakota. 

 

“The fact that the scholarship was created in honor of Mostafa Sarim and his love for learning makes the reward so much better,” Moden reflected.

Giving back is instilled in Keaton Lawson. He also knows how powerful showing up and supporting others can be because he’s experienced it first-hand. 

 

Lawson was born with a rare genetic condition called Klippel Trenaunay Weber Syndrome (KT). KT creates extra blood vessels that are curled up and produce extra blood flow. And, because there is no cure for KT, Lawson has to learn to deal with chronic pain. Even after surgical treatment, KT presented bigger challenges. 

 

When Lawson was 11, he experienced sharp pain that caused him to collapse while mowing a neighbor’s lawn. Lawson underwent treatment for sepsis in his hip – a condition that threatened his leg with amputation. As he healed from the infection, he worked to rehabilitate his leg almost every day at the gym before school, in addition to physical therapy. Determined, Lawson competed in both football and basketball that same school year.

 

“What I learned is that hardships never make me weaker,” Lawson writes. 

 

In addition to digging into AP coursework and his work as a two-sport athlete, Lawson gives back to his community by providing lawn mowing services in the summer and shoveling in the winter for the eldergly and disabled – all for free. He was even officially hired on by his neighborhood association when he was in 7th grade. As he looks ahead to college, Lawson plans to take his love for building computers to a deeper level and recognizes the need for him to be an example for other kids of color, specifically in the field of engineering.  

 

Meghan Stoltzman believes that education has the power to change people and societies and, considering the impact it has had on her own life, she has no plans to sit back. China’s one-child policy impacted the lives of 13 million girls, including her own. Her life changed forever again when her parents adopted her into their growing family. 

 

As Stoltzman struggled to balance the different parts of her identity, she embraced the opportunity to pursue her education and recognized it for the gift it is. She’s also realized what a gift the community she’s discovered with other students is. 

 

From participating as a newcomer to becoming captain of the Science Bowl, playing flute in the Crimson Winds, Jazz Band, National Honor Society, theater pit orchestra, and Math Club, Stoltzman understands how each interaction has impacted her. 

 

Stoltzman is ready to make an impact, too.  Over the years, Stoltzman discovered her love for science, which has turned into a passion for medicine – and her plans to pursue a pre-med degree following senior year.