“The dedication and work ethic [Lauren] puts in to each and every activity she is involved in is impressive and commendable,” Assistant Band Director Jessica Rensberger said.  ”I frequently forget that she is a senior in High School; she is mature well beyond her years.”

One of Lauren’s key focuses beyond schoolwork is music.  She plays, among other things, harp, bassoon, and mellophone, and she has dedicated much of her time during the summer to leading the marching band as Drum Major, a responsibility that very few people are cut out for.  Being Drum Major requires a great passion for music, and a great deal of dedication to the band, and under Lauren’s leadership, the band has had two very successful seasons.

Between summer practices and before every weekend show, Lauren would send out emails to everybody in band reminding them of their responsibilities to practice and to remind them of schedule changes, report times, etc.

She stands out as a leader in the band, even after the marching season.  Very often when both Band Director Tom Cook and Ms. Rensberger were out and there was a sub, Lauren would take over and conduct the band from the start of warm-ups to the end of class.

“Her accomplishments as a musician are particularly outstanding, students like her do not walk through a band director’s door often!” Rensberger said.  With Lauren graduating, it will be difficult to find someone with her talent and dedication to fill her shoes.

“Despite all of the time dedicated to her practicing and her studies, Lauren makes the time to participate in youth activities at her church.  She travels on mission trips and uses her musical talents to enhance the worship services,” Fort Atkinson Middle School English Teacher Martha Firari said.

Even with all of these things on her plate, Lauren manages to find time for friends, like Firari’s daughter Grace.

“On a personal level, I’m glad that Lauren is a part of [Grace's] circle of friends.  She’s such an enjoyable guest because of her friendly demeanor,” Firari said.

Regardless of what she is doing, Lauren is able to excel and balance personal life with school life.  Everything comes first and nothing comes second.  She is deeply involved in music and the community, yet she is in rigorous courses and manages to keep up with her own work and also does her best to help others understand.  “Lauren is the consummate student,” English Teacher Mike Hall said.  “She is conscientious and compassionate and has left an indelible mark here at FHS.”

Lauren’s mark in the music department has been one of great passion, dedication, and sacrifice.  She gave up her time, trekking almost daily through the infamous “Swamp Ookie-Pookie” (the flooded practice field behind the school), subjecting herself to the full power of Dr. Beat, standing tall and proud through sweltering days and freezing nights to lead a band of rag-tag soldiers whose only commonality was music to be the best that they could be.  “She will be missed at Fort Atkinson, but I am looking forward to hearing of her accomplishments in Arizona – they are lucky to have her!” Rensberger said.

On every phone call she made, she asked her friends to wear all black the following day to school to signify that the new refinance plan was the “death of our country.”

“Its not that the plan is hurting myself or my family personally, but I know the strong effect the laws passed with it will have on millions of people in America, along with locals in the Jefferson-Fort area.  I`m trying to stand up for what others won’t do,”  Garity said.

Although the boycott only gathered 11 supporters at Jefferson High the day after the refinance plan was passed, the supporters were enough to make a small point to the high school and to friends of Marcie’s.

“I may not be up there in ranking alongside people who can really take a stand, but it means a lot to me to be doing a small part for myself and friends.”

“Marissa is and will always be my best friend! She is the happiest, most energetic person you will ever meet in your life. She brightens up my day whenever i see her, and she’s that type of person that will laugh at a stupid joke that’s not funny. She was an awesome poms captain and I’m glad I got to be on it all 4 years with her and became best friends,” Senior Jenna Allard said.

Dhillon is a hard working student, a loyal friend, and a caring family member. She balances school and friends with amazing precision.

“She is always kind, always polite. Other students like Ashna. I can’t imagine that she is ever rude to anyone. She treats all others with respect.” Math Teacher Lynn Dowgwillo said.

Other students truly do like Ashna. Every person interviewed remarked that she is always happy, willing to help, and a great friend.

“[What makes her unique is] her willingness to work hard despite being set back or things being difficult at times,” Junior and brother Arjun Dhillon said.

Dhillon challenges herself on many levels. Involvements such as State Solo and Ensemble, tennis, Environmental Club, Big Buddy, Student Senate, International Club, and National Honor Society keep her busy. She has also taken and succeeded in many honors and AP courses.

“Personally, what stands out for me is how thoughtful she is about saying thanks for help,” said AP Stats teacher Mrs. Dowgwillo.

The studying doesn’t stop when she walks out the school doors. At home, Dhillon spends a great deal of time studying to make sure she does well in each class.

“She studies a lot around the house, but whenever we are interacting, she’s pretty talkative,” Arjun said.

At home, Ashna has studying down to a science. It is seen through her schoolwork that her methods are effective.

“She has to sit in a specific chair when she studies,” Arjun said.

Dhillon is also involved in many music oriented groups. She has played in the orchestra since fourth grade. She has been in the Chamber Orchestra all four years of high school. Dhillon was also a guest performer on sitar for the Orchestra Dessert Concert in 2010.

The Dhillon family takes many vacations to India to visit family and friends. Ashna often loves to share the culture to friends back home.

“My favorite memory has to be Ashna attempting to teach us how to dance Bangra and watching 5 hour long Bollywood movies, with subtitles.” Ellen Ringle said.

Next year, she plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to major in Biology.

“Emilie Bakken possesses all the traits of an outstanding student. She works tirelessly to do her best work and to improve herself, she displays a tenacious hunger to learn, and she sincerely cares for those around her,” English Teacher Mike Hall said.
Bakken is graduating as a 2 sport athlete, by playing volleyball and softball. In volleyball, she was predominantly an outside hitter, and softball, the starting pitcher all four years. She has earned six Varsity Athletic Letters overall, 3 in volleyball and 3 in softball, and is expecting her seventh this softball season. In volleyball, she received Second Team All-conference as a Senior. In softball, she received Second Team All-conference as a Freshman and a Junior, and First Team All-conference as a Sophomore. She was also the Most Valuable Player in softball as a Freshman, Sophomore and Junior. Emilie is expecting more honors this softball season.

Bakken’s personality is contagious in school and in her variety of activities.

“Emilie certainly has enviable academic gifts, but her ability to genuinely make others around her smile transcends any transcript or test score,” Hall said.

Emilie will attend UW-Madison in the Fall, majoring in Medical microbiology and immunology, in hopes of becoming an allergist. Long time friend and teammate Cassidy Lyons will be her rommate.

The Pell Grant program gives financial aid to students whose family income and expected family contribution fall below a certain level. It is mostly based on the expected amount of family contribution, meaning how much one’s parents can contribute to help with paying tuition. Each person evaluated is given an EFC (expected family contribution) score. A person with a score of 0 is granted the full amount. From there, it is evaluated as to how much money one is eligible for. A person who is eligible for a Pell Grant and had a parent in the Armed Forces that was killed after 9/11 is granted the maximum amount automatically. Many people want to receive Pell Grants because they do not have to be repaid like a loan.

This, Obama’s second attempt to make the Pell Grant an entitlement to all qualified candidates, would make the total budget for the program roughly $35 billion. The last attempt was in February of last year, when Congress rejected the idea.

By making the Pell Grant an entitlement, Obama wants to be sure that everyone who qualifies receives the highest amount of money.

Expected family contribution is calculated by the Department of Education from a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). All students applying for financial aid must apply using the FAFSA form, available online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. It is recommended to apply by March 1st, but if that is not possible, one should still apply as early as possible.

In 2009, the maximum amount awarded to a student was $5,350. If Congress approves, the highest grant will be increased to $5,550 in 2010. In 2011, the maximum would reach 5,710. From then on, every year the amount would increase along with the consumer price index, plus 1%.

Carol Miller, financial aid director at UW- Whitewater, deals with financial aid statistics on a regular basis.

“This year at UW-Whitewater, we have about 9600 financial aid applicants.  To date, we have 2,449 students that are receiving Pell Grants this year.  That amounts to about 25% of all of our students receiving Pell Grants.  So you can see that not all students are eligible for Pell Grants,” Miller said.

The purpose of increasing the maximum amount revolves around making college affordable. It is believed that education is the key to helping our economy grow. With quickly rising tuition expenses, many find it hard to afford college for four or five years without assistance.

“America’s economic security depends on improving education. We have to educate our way to a better economy,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said.

The increase in grants is aimed at helping more people attend classes without much financial worry. One of Obama’s goals is to get people to start and finish their degrees so they can get better jobs. This may be the big break to becoming better prepared for global competition in our careers.

The conference, Model United Nations of the University of Chicago (MUNUC), was held in downtown Chicago from the February 4 -7 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel.

Model United Nations conferences have been held since the 1950’s, with the goal of educating students about world affairs and putting into practice the arts of debate and negotiation.  Each person (called a delegate) is on a committee, which debates two different topics over the four-day conference.

At MUNUC, there was a wide array of committees that delegates could participate in, ranging from the Economic and Finance Committee, to Disarmament and International Security, to various historical simulations of past world crises.  The goal of each committee is to craft a resolution that solves or helps to solve the issue that the committee is presented with.

Because the goal of the conference is for delegates to gain a clearer idea of how real-world problems are solved, some students leave the conference with a less-than-favorable view of the United Nations.

“My personal view of the United Nations and governmental organizations in general changed a lot after the MUN conference. While it’s inspiring to see how much can change if everyone puts their heads together, it’s also discouraging to see how many refuse to be flexible and block proceedings at every step of the way,” Sophomore Chali Pittman said.

In addition to teaching principles of international relations, Model UN conferences also allow delegates to connect with peers. There were opportunities to socialize during break periods, before/after committee sessions, and at the delegate dance held in the Grand Ballroom of the Palmer House Hilton on Saturday night.

“The conference was pretty much awesome.  I got to meet a lot of cool people,” Pittman said.

Additionally, with modern tools like Facebook, delegates are able to keep in touch with friends made over the weekend.  This is useful because Model UN conferences are very much international events.  Some delegations came to Chicago from as far away as Beijing, China and the Netherlands.

The University of Chicago also sponsored an information session which anyone could attend to learn more about the university and to gain knowledge about college preparation in general.

Overall, FAHS delegates came out of the weekend having learned valuable knowledge about world affairs and having made meaningful connections with people from around the world.