Today’s top students have more opportunities than ever before to take advanced coursework, compete in sports, play in state-wide music competitions, display leadership and excel in general. The sky is the limit, but that also means that there is enormous pressure to achieve.
We asked area schools to recommend some of their most outstanding students, and we asked five of those students to share their stories with us. We know they are outstanding among their peers—now we want to know what their everyday life is like, what they care about, and what they do in their downtime. Take a breather and see how they take theirs.
Michael Hastings
Maranatha Christian Academy
Hardest class: Trigonometry, because memorizing identities was tedious and did not seem applicable to my future.
Top interest in school: Math- and science-related classes such as physics and chemistry.
Extracurriculars: Golf with my dad, brother and friends. Soccer with my school friends. Snowboarding in the winter. Writing HTML code for my Uncle Chris’s software development company.
If I were an incoming freshman again, I would tell myself: A little bit of extra effort can make a huge difference.
I wish I had more time for: Friends.
What I do for fun: I spend time at my cabin, either fishing, swimming, relaxing, or doing water-sports (such as wakeboarding, skiing, knee-boarding and barefoot-skiing). At home, I play golf and soccer or relax and play video games with friends.
If I had to choose a profession right now, it would be: Chemical engineer. (Chance that this choice will stick: 80 percent).
Where I plan to attend college: I would love to attend the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering.
I excel at: Academics, soccer and golf.
No one would ever guess: I assembled my own custom computer.
I‘m glad I’ve had a chance to: I am planning on attending an educational trip to Costa Rica.
Also: I am very mechanically minded. I reverse-engineered a potato gun out of a Gatorade bottle and an igniter from a lighter when I was 12 years old.
Corey Moody
Osseo Senior High School
Hardest class: Spanish, because you have to remember everything and turn it into speaking. To overcome such a challenging class, I have to spend more time practicing than usual on word concepts.
Top interest in school: Algebra. I have loved math ever since elementary. I enjoy figuring out how to solve problems.
Extracurriculars: Attending church, hanging out with friends, running track and cross country. My goal is to win state for track or cross country.
If I were an incoming freshman again I would tell myself: To not be shy, to be yourself and try new things. Join clubs and programs you never thought of. Also, don’t be afraid to leave the crowd and be who you want to be. Don’t fit in, but rather, stand out.
I wish I had more time to: Spend with family and friends. I love being around the people I love, and making memories. You cannot go back in time, and the time spent with people should not be taken for granted.
What I do for fun: I love running and train with friends at the gym. To chill out I go to my room and listen to music. With the chaos of little siblings, you have to get a break once in a while.
If I had to choose a profession right now: A doctor, because I love to help others. It’s has been my dream job since I was a kid. (Chance that this choice will stick: 50 percent. I still have so much time left to choose my future job.)
Where I plan to attend college: Hopefully I can receive a scholarship for athletics and/or academics for the U of M.
I excel at: Meeting new people and also working in a group atmosphere as a team.
No one would ever guess: I am the oldest child of the family. I think it is because I still act like a kid myself.
Also: My parents are divorced and I feel that the situation has always pushed me to be the best I can be to make both of them proud.
Tina Boe
Osseo Senior High School
Hardest class: AP English 11, because of its heavy workload, and it just demands a higher level of thinking.
Top interest in school: Definitely science. I love chemistry because it involves a lot of math, which is another subject that I’m strong in, and because I find a lot of the concepts really interesting.
Extracurriculars: Outside of volleyball, I participate in volunteering with the National Honor Society and practicing ceramics.
If I were an incoming freshman again, I would tell myself: Expand your horizons, be kind to everyone and smile more!
I wish I had more time: To read just for fun or learn to play a new sport.
What I do for fun: I stay pretty laid back, watching crime drama TV shows, baking and going to Punch Pizza with my best friend Savana.
If I had to choose a profession right now, it would be: Engineering. (Chance that this choice will stick: A solid 80 percent).
Where I plan to attend college: I verbally committed to play volleyball at the University of Denver.
I excel at: School and volleyball. I am motivated to work hard in school, mostly because that is the standard that was set by my two older brothers…and yes, you could say my competitive nature takes over.
No one would ever guess: I once had a pet chinchilla named Maui.
I‘m glad I had a chance to: Participate in a state tournament appearance in my freshman year.
Also: I have a passion for ceramics. It’s the first form of art that I find interesting and fun.
Rebecca Hitchcock
Maranatha Christian Academy
Hardest class: AP Literature and Composition. It has been challenging because it is a lot of reading. However, it has been enjoyable to realize that many people can have different interpretations, and recognize that they could all be right.
Top interest in school: Criminology. It is interesting to be able to know criminals’ thought processes and the laws that are made to prevent and manage crime.
Extracurriculars: I have played varsity soccer since seventh grade and have also joined my school’s downhill sports club (snowboarding), Adventures Club and film club (viewing various movie genres).
I wish I had more time for: Sleep. Just because I love sleep.
What I do for fun: Play soccer with my brother, Joseph. Watch TV with my sister, Elizabeth. Some of our favorite shows are Psych and Hawaii Five-0, which we named our four Pygmy goats after: Shawn and Gus from Psych, and McGarrett and Danno from Hawaii Five-0. We have attempted to train them to walk on leashes, which works sometimes; however, most of the time I end up with four goats pulling me four different directions.
Fun fact: My sister brings one or two of the goats to most of my home soccer games.
If I had to choose a profession right now, it would be: Detective. (Chance this choice will stick: 87 percent).
No one would guess: I don’t like pop.
I’m glad I’ve had a chance to: Go to a school that values my faith and academics.
Also: I have the ability to eat a lot of food. One time after school I ate an entire pizza, four cookies, and a bunch of fruit, went to softball practice and then soccer practice where we had to run a mile for our warm-up.
“Bubba” Charlie Horton
Maple Grove Senior High School
Hardest class: HP Precalculus; lots of memorization of formulas and application of said formulas. Top interest in school: Math. I’ve always loved it. When I was very young, it came easily to me, and ever since I’ve always loved figuring things out, whether it be in math or life in general.
Extracurriculars: Baseball and basketball.
If I were an incoming freshman again I would tell myself: Do whatever makes you happy.
I wish I had more time for: Homework and friends
What I do for fun: Play ping pong, disc golf and Xbox. I do these with my friends, typically from my baseball team.
If I had to choose a profession right now, it would be: Mechanical engineer. (Chance this choice will stick: 95 percent).
Where I plan to attend college: The University of Minnesota to play baseball (and earn my degree, of course).
No one would ever guess: I used to play soccer.
I excel at: School and baseball.
I’m glad I’ve had a chance to do: Link crew.
Also: I’m surprisingly empathetic. I’m usually very sarcastic and I laugh a lot, so people may not think I’m capable of being serious. If someone is having a rough time at home, I’m comfortable talking to them about it.
