Tyler and Meghan were chosen by teachers at West De Pere High School as Students of the Month for December.
Tyler leads his class with a 4.0 GPA and has already earned several college credits through AP and college credit courses. In school, Tyler has been a part of several organizations including French Club, Drama Club, Math Team, Academic Decathlon Team, and the National Honor Society. Tyler was also selected as a one of thirty-three Brown County Teen Leaders in 2004.
Despite a busy academic schedule, Tyler devotes many hours of his life to his true passion: music performance. For many years, Tyler has taken private lessons for clarinet, piano, and voice. He has represented West De Pere at the State Honors Orchestra since his sophomore year, and in June of this year Tyler was chosen as the principal clarinetist to perform under Director Gary Green from the University of Miami. Recently, Tyler was accepted into the NBA All-State Honors Band.
In addition to his achievements with the clarinet, Tyler has studied the piano for ten years and has performed in the high school Jazz Band since his freshman year. He has accompanied the high school Chamber Choir on several occasions and was presented the Excellence in Piano Performances and Excellence in Jazz Improvisation awards in 2006. Tyler’s vocal talent has taken him to the UW-Oshkosh Choir Camp, the UW-Madison Summer Music Camp, the WSMA High School Honors Choir, and the WSMA Student Composition Competition. He has earned multiple district and state awards for his performances.
Tyler’s passion for musical performance has taken him into the community as well. He is a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and there performs with Adult Choir, was the organist and pianist for the Living Stations of the Cross, and regularly arranges instrumental and vocal pieces for worship services. Tyler has also taught mentally challenged high school students to play percussive instruments for the past five years.
Next year Tyler plans to attend Luther College.
Meghan is president of the West De Pere National Honor Society and, through that role, works to coordinate community service opportunities for the group. This is a natural role for Meg who invests much of her free time doing community service work, often through her church. Over the past three summers, Meg has gone on mission trips to West Virginia and Mississippi with her church, St. Anne’s Episcopal. One of her teachers notes, “With a deep sense of principles grounded in her faith, Meg is the personification of living a life of service to others. In the halls and classrooms of our school, Meg treats her peers with respect and sincerity.”
Aside from spending time doing service work, Meg also dedicates much of her energy to the high school drama program. She has been an active member of Drama Club for four years and has performed key roles in multiple all-school plays. Meg has also been part of the One-Act cast which took home the Critics’ Choice Award at the state competition in both 2006 and 2007. In addition, Meg has been a key member of the forensics team for the past four years, earning silver medals at the state competition in both 2006 and 2007.
In the classroom, Meg is definitely a leader with her 3.9 GPA. But her dedication to her education goes beyond letter grades. As one of Meg’s teachers writes, “Meg is sincere about learning. She doesn’t want to be handed a grade or given an easy way out. She wants to work, and she wants to grow. Meg is all about challenging herself as a learner.”
Next year Meg plans to attend either UW Eau Claire or the College of St. Catherine in the Twin Cities.
