May Students of Month chosen as ‘18-’19 school year concludes

    The end of the school year has arrived, and the last Student’s of the Month have been revealed.
    Juniors’ Brooklyn Christensen and Nike Smith were selected for the month of May.
    Christensen was born in Kearney to parents Mark and Kathy Christensen. They lived on a farm in Oxford until she was six months old, at which time the family moved to Imperial.
    She has six siblings, three brothers and three sisters.
    Christensen has been busy this year with 9th Street Singers, cross country, track, the school musical, National Honor Society, president of “Interact” sponsored by the local Rotary Club and vice-president of FFA. She will be FFA president during her senior year.
    Her favorite class this year has been chemistry because it is a challenging subject, she said, and she is considering majoring in chemistry or biology when she enters college after graduation.
    “I would like to apply for the RHOP program (Rural Health Opportunities Program). I am considering attending either Wayne State College, Peru State College, Chadron State College or the University of Nebraska Kearney where RHOP is available,” said Christensen.
    If selected for the program, she would be guaranteed admission to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) where she plans to pursue a career in anesthesiology, she added.
    Christensen stays busy outside of school as well.
    She is a member of the Christian Faith Outreach (CFO) youth group, 4-H and 4-H student council member, and she works at the swimming pool as a lifeguard and swimming instructor.
    “I have my own community service ‘business’ called ‘Special Swimming for Special Kids’ where I teach adaptive aquatics for children with Downs Syndrome,” Christensen said.
    She doesn’t charge for her lessons and this service fulfills part of SAE (supervised agricultural experience) for FFA, she explained.
    “I will be taking my “Special Swimming for Special Kids” program to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma this summer to help with Downs Syndrome kids there,” she said.
    This year has been fun, she said, and she was proud about her team winning state champions for FFA Parli Pro (Parliamentary Precedure).
    “I am excited for next year. I love school and the new challenges and experiences that will take me into adult life,” said Christensen.
    Smith has lived in Imperial his entire life.
    His parents are Gregg and Denise Smith, and he has one sister and three brothers.
    He likes math, especially trigonometry because, “it’s nice to have a bit of a challenge, and Mrs. Schueler is a lot of fun,” he grinned.
    Smith has participated in the spring play and 9th Street Singers.
    He is also a member of the National Honor Society.
    A memory that is important to him has been singing with “the guys” in Show Choir for Mr. Hayes’ last year, “especially the end of year concert,” he added.
    He is ready to start senior year, Smith said.
    “It feels pretty nice to be close to being done, but a little scary thinking about being on my own,” he continued.
    Smith said he is interested in pursuing something in visual arts involving math.
    He is leaning toward attending the University of Nebraska Lincoln or Kearney and majoring in mathematics, he said.
    As soon as school is out, Smith said his family is going on vacation somewhere in the Tennessee area.
    After that, he will be helping renovate their house, he said.

 

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