November Hastings Rotary Club Student of the Month Jolie Pettit attended Thursday’s meeting and talked about her active academic and extra-curricular schedule.

The Hastings Rotary Club recognizes Hastings High School seniors who exemplify Rotary’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 Rotary members.

Pettit was nominated by ALC Director Todd Levos, Health and Human Performance Teacher Tim Haneberg, and French teacher Anthony Letourneau.

Here is what they had to say:

“It is truly an honor to nominate Jolie Pettit for the Rotary Student of the Month. Jolie is an

extremely dedicated student-athlete who inspires others with her unwavering discipline, work

ethic in the classroom, example she displays in sports, and her leadership throughout the

school. She has been a four sport athlete, but is now down to three sports, and competes in volleyball, wrestling, and track and field. Jolie is a Link Crew Leader, French Honor Society member, and an FCA huddle leader. She also excels in the classroom, boasting a 3.829 G.P.A. all while taking strenuous classes such as AP Lang, APUSH, AP Calc AB, AP Chem, AP Macro, College Lit, College Psych, and College Public Speaking.”

Jolie’s teachers, coaches, and advisors could not wait to boast about Jolie and the impact she has on her peers and the Hastings’ community.

Levos had these words to describe Jolie. “Jolie not only excels in the classroom, but I havehad the opportunity to coach Jolie in track and field. Jolie is a leader at practice and in theweight room. As a sophomore, Jolie placed in the top six in many meets and finished 5th in theshot put at the Conference Track and Field Championships. As a junior, Jolie was in the top fourn many meets and her third place finish in the shot put at the Conference Meet earned her All-Conference Honorable Mention. Jolie is a three sport athlete at HHS also competing in. Volleyball in the fall and wrestling in the winter.”

Haneberg resonated with many of the same views of Jolie. “Jolie is a phenomenal young woman and an amazing support person for fellow students. She is a student-athlete who is the definition of both leadership and character. She models each of these traits in her daily actions, interactions with her peers, and through her positive attitude. Jolie’s ability to lead comes directly from her high character which she exemplifies through morality, courage, and integrity. Her ability to be a positive role model to her 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 her due to her honesty, academic ability, work ethic, and positive attitude.”

Letourneau echoed these same attributes. “What I appreciate about Jolie is her strong moral character as well as sense of community. Jolie was a fantastic addition to both French classes and AP Language and Composition. She gives her best to all the things with which she engages while also asking great probative questions that are helpful to her classmates. She is incredibly responsible in managing her time and commitments, making every effort to be forward thinking and planning to be in a position to give her best at every turn. She is a natural communicator and leader. I cannot wait to see all the wonderful things she does in the future!” In Jolie’s free time, she works at Dan’s Bar and the Stepping Out group home. She is undecided on a college choice but wants to become a veterinarian working on large animals. Pettit was welcomed with her parents, grandparents and nominating staff members in the meeting held at 2nd Street Depot. She credited her family and support system at school for helping her excel.

“I would definitely not be doing any of the things that I do if it wasn’t for all these people that are here with me today,” she said.

Pettit said last year, she participated in four sports, doing Alpine skiing and wrestling in the winter. Because of her academic workload, she cut that back to just wrestling this year, and she’s team captain.

“I’m taking some pretty hard classes, and I thought that would be a little much,” she said.

Pettit works at Stepping Out in Hastings and helps waitress at Dan’s Bar in New Trier.

Pettit plans to attend the University of Kentucky in Lexington with a double major in Equine Science and Management.

Hastings Superintendent Dr. Tamara Champa said, “What a great role model and example of what we strive to have as our student body.”