By Bruce Karnick

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Each month, the Hastings Area Rotary Club works with the Hastings High School to present a Student of the Month with a recognition breakfast and small donation to help them further their education. Rotary has their four-way test, is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build good will and better friendships, will/it/be/beneficial/to/all/con cerned. A student of the month should exemplify all four parts of the four-way test.

Students are nominated by teachers or school staff for their commitment to the school, extracurricular activities, an awesome, helpful attitude, and service in the community.

This months Student is Taylor McCoy, nominated by Kim Hoff. During her introduction of McCoy, Hoff had this to say: I met Taylor as a peer tutor, a program that I have advised for the past 10 years. She was a dedicated tutor her sophomore year and I recognized her for her sense of responsibility and commitment, which led me to ask her to be the leader of Peer Tutors her junior year. Best decision of my life! She took the program and completely redesigned how we track students, log peer tutor hours, keep data/records, etc. She revolutionized the process and got everything in a digital format.

When the pandemic hit, Taylor went into problem solution mode, and immediately set up a zoom format for helping students virtually. She developed a system for students to request a tutor online, and then she personally would connect them with the tutor that/ would/ be/ the/ best/ fit/ for/ their needs. This year, Taylor designed a whole new application process and continues to look for the most effective ways to reach students. She mentors the new tutors, follows up on everything, and responds immediately to every request I have of her!

She is, by far, the person you want as your right-hand woman. She has made such an amazing impact on the Peer Tutoring program, and these improvements will help not only today’s students, but the future of the whole program.

I will miss her so much when she graduates but appreciate her dedication to the program these past 3 years more than she will ever know.

McCoy not only organizes the tutor program for Hastings, she is also part of the Link Crew, a group of upperclassmen that go through training to be mentors to incoming freshmen/ for/ the/ first/ half/ of/ the year. Link helps new students feel more comfortable in the crazy new high school world they are entering.

She is also a member of the National Honor Society and part of the United Way of Hastings’ YES program. The YES program is designed to help youth that may be having issues at home, addiction issues, thoughts of suicide and other/concerns./u a o/identifies/ student leaders that are safe people to talk to in a time of need. Student leaders that will help/ those/ find/ the/ help/ they/ need and be someone they can lean on so they do not go through the help alone.

McCoy is currently working at Coborn’s in Hastings as a cashier and will be attending the University of Northwestern, St. Paul campus for business administration in the fall of 2022.

a)$S5 O)check)to)help)them)further)their)educationP) Pictured left to right, parents Jeff and Jennifer Mc-Coy, Rotarian Katy Lindberg, Student of the Month Taylor McCoy and the staff member that nominated Taylor, Kim Hoff. Photo by Bruce Karnick