The Hastings Area Rotary Club works with staff at Hastings Senior High School to honor seniors throughout the school year. Each month, one senior student is selected and invited to the Hastings Area Rotary Club meeting on Thursday morning where they enjoy a meal from Green Mill and have a chance to network with area business leaders before they are presented with a scholarship check and have their story presented here in the local newspaper. The Hastings Rotary Club recognizes Hastings High School seniors who exemplify the Rotary Club’s motto of ‘Service Above Self’ as a way to reward and foster these ideals, and also build mutually rewarding relationships between school administration, staff, students, parents and the community.
Rotary members had the pleasure of meeting Senior Ian Pepple at the November 17th meeting. Pepple is active all around the school in both sports and academia as a leader and mentor to the younger students. He was nominated by HHS staff members Jodi Shelhamer, Tim Haneberg and Dana Strain.
Mrs. Shelhamer’s nomination stated, “It is truly an honor to nominate Ian Pepple for the Rotary Student of the Month. Ian is an extremely dedicated student-athlete who inspires others with his unwavering discipline, work ethic in the classroom, example he displays in sports, and his leadership throughout the school. He is a two-sport athlete who competes in Football, where he is on the leadership council, and Wrestling where he is a captain. Ian is a Link Crew Leader and an FCA huddle leader. He also excels in the classroom, boasting a 3.349 G.P.A. all while taking strenuous classes such as AP Lang, AP Comp, APUSH, AP Macro, CIS Public Speaking, CIS Psych, and CIS Spanish. Ian’s teachers, coaches, and advisors could not wait to boast about Ian and the impact he has on his peers and the Hastings’ community.”
Mrs. Shelhamer added, “Ian is an active and energetic member of the HHS student community. He is a quality student in the classroom, a quality athlete on the field/mat, and a quality human in his everyday life. He has been a part of the HHS AVID program since the 9th grade and has made a solid impact on our AVID classroom experience ever since. Ian always brings an insightful perspective with his honest and thoughtful contributions to discussions, a positive energy with his good humor and big smile, AND a commitment to success with his focus on academics. He is most definitely a student deserving of the honor of being selected Rotary Student of the Month.”
Mr. Strain also had high praise for Ian. “Ian is one of the highest-character guys in our football program; he is a great teammate and he is an excellent player. As a junior in football, Ian was unable to play due to an injury. Rather than quit or show up half the time, Ian literally showed up every day and served as a manager helping the team in anyway he could from picking up equipment to filling water bottles to providing positive energy for his teammates. Then, as a senior this year and healthy again, Ian has moved positions to best help the team and he has turned into a starter at a position that he had never played before. Through it all, Ian is a great model for his teammates and someone they look up to because of his positive, mental attitude along with his care and empathy for others. For all of this Ian was identified as a leader in our program by his coaches and teammates… and he is a wonderful leader by example in the building as well!”
Mr. Haneberg resonated with many of the same views of Ian.
“Ian is a phenomenal young man and an amazing support person for fellow students. He is a student-athlete who is the definition of both leadership and character. He models each of these traits in his daily actions, interactions with his peers, and through his positive attitude. Ian’s ability to lead comes directly from his high character which he exemplifies through morality, courage, and integrity. His ability to be a positive role model to his teammates and peers, allows them to analyze situations that high school students are faced with and make moral decisions. Every coach, teacher, or other school personnel always has positive words to say about him due to his honesty, academic ability, work ethic, and positive attitude.”
Pepple is looking to become a Physical Therapist or do something in the area of sports medicine once he graduates. He has not decided on a college as of yet. In his down time, Pepple loves to read, cook, exercise and draw, and you will almost always see a smile on his face when you run into him.
Congratulations Ian Pepple on Rotary Student of the Month!
