The Christmas and New Year holidays make it difficult to pin down students to celebrate their achievements, so at the end of January, the Hastings Area Rotary Club celebrated their November and December students of the month together. A mistake on the part of a certain reporter, who shall remain nameless unless you look at the start of this story, and the report never made it to the paper. (My sincerest apologies to Emma and Katelyn.) That means this story will talk about not one, not two, but three amazing students at Hastings High School.

The Hastings Area Rotary Club partners with Hastings High School (HHS) to give a $250 scholarship each month of the school year to seniors that exemplify Rotary’s fourway test. Of the things we think, say or do, is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build goodwill and better friendships and will it be beneficial to all concerned. Students nominated should be active in various school or other service-related groups, be leaders among their peers and diligently work to ensure the success of themselves and others.

The students are selected as a student of the month based on school staff recommendations. Then they are celebrated at a Rotary meeting the following month where they and their guests enjoy breakfast with area businesses. Part of the meeting the student tells the club about themselves, and the club members have an opportunity to ask questions of the student.

November’s Student of the Month: Emma McLay Emma was nominated by Kim Hoff HHS Counselor, here is what she said in her nomination: It is with great pleasure that I nominate Emma McLay for Rotary Student of the Month. Emma is a shining example of positivity and leadership at Hastings High School. She is highly involved with many organizations and activities, excels academically, and volunteers her time to help others. In addition to show choir, athletics, student council, Youth in Government, and academics, she is a part of two groups that I advise: Peer Helpers and Peer Tutors.

Peer Helpers is a support system for fellow students -peer helpers serve as listeners, encouragement and support for other students facing challenges. Emma has been not only a great support to her peers, but she has also been a tremendous help to me in organizing the group and keeping others informed. Emma is an excellent communicator and multi-tasker! She manages the social media accounts and is one of the main points of contact with students. She seeks out leadership opportunities -she sees a need, asks how she can help, problem solves, and delivers. It is for these reasons that she was chosen to be a leader of Peer Helpers in her senior year. Emma also tutors students on Wednesday mornings, offering academic support to struggling students. She is always looking for ways to help others; she is proactive and selfmotivated.

Emma is a stellar example and role model for others. Her ultimate goal is to become a lawyer who fights for others, and she has just the right combination of compassion and tenacity to achieve this. It is with the highest confidence that I nominate Emma.

December’s Student of the Month: Katelyn Rud Katelyn was nominated by language arts teachers Jodi Shelhamer and Anthony Letourneau. Here is what they had to say about Katelyn. Here is what they had to say: Katelyn is involved in the HHS AVID program, the Writing Center, the trap team and link crew. When thinking about Katelyn, three words come immediately to mind: dedicated, compassionate, and solution oriented. In class, Katelyn shows genuine curiosity in the lived experiences of others and strives to build the deepest connections she can between the topics we explored and her life. With the Writing Center, Katelyn has stepped up as a leader and goes above and beyond to share the Writing Center's mission to promote a collaborative community of writers. Katelyn has also shown herself to be an emerging leader within the AVID program at HHS. She is a model for what it means to have individual determination, as she works on her own growth toward her future goals. Katelyn will utilize both her leadership and her compassion this year–as a senior, she will serve as a paid tutor for our underclass AVID students.

January’s Student of the Month: Tyler Wood Tyler was nominated by Amy Childers and Steve Peterson. Here is what they said in their nomination: Tyler has worked very hard on his academics and has become a leader in his classes. He is kind and supportive of his peers, always follows through with his part of any work, and encourages others to do their best. He used his experience in the Inver Grove Police Explorers program to add depth and meaning to his Criminal Justice class this past semester and was a wonderful resource for his classmates. He plans to go to Alexandria Technical & Community College for Law Enforcement after graduating.

Tyler is always kind, polite and respectful to all of those he comes into contact with, including his teammates on the swimming team, where he was named a captain this current year. He has also given back, in part by serving as the manager for the girls swim team as a junior and a senior. He is very perceptive, and has made a point of helping new teammates connect to others on the team. We are proud to nominate him for this recognition.

All three students were engaging and very thankful for the opportunity to be part of the Student of the Month awards. The club explored each of the student’s plans for college and how life at HHS has shaped them for the future. They also get ribbed a little to see just how well they listen to their parents and keep their room clean. The Student of the Month meeting is always the most entertaining meeting of the month for the club and the most well attended.

Emma, Katelyn and Tyler are all well deserving of the awarded Student of the Month recognition. As part of that, they each receive a paper weight and pen that has Rotary’s four-way test on it plus a check for $250 that they can use toward the post high school education.

Tyler Wood is Rotary’s January Student of the Month. L to R: Nate Wood, Tonia Wood, Tyler Wood and Steve Peterson. Photo by Bruce Karnick