Seniors Have Big Plans

By Marshall DeLonay and Adam Rutz

The seniors at Newman Catholic High School have always had high aspirations, and this year’s graduating class is no exception.  As many Newman Catholic High School students are finishing up their careers at NCHS, nearly all of them have their plans for post-graduate schooling narrowed down to their final schools or have already selected their school for next fall.  With the seniors spreading out and going to different colleges across the country, there will be many big changes for them, but that is all a part of growing up and the seniors are ready for this newfound responsibility.  With students pursuing their talents at the next level in athletics, music, art, and many other subjects, Newman Catholic education seems to be preparing these students well for the next level.

There are a number of students who are going to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and they are excited for this new adventure.  Some students who plan on attending Eau Claire include Luke Hruska, Luke Kallstrom, and Matt Johnson, Claire Henry, and Paige Gelling.  Paige is planning on studying hard and majoring in Communications and Spanish.  She is also going to be a part of the marching band and she is looking forward to traveling with the band on their many trips.  There is one thing that is vexing her; the roommate situation.  She stated, “I am very nervous about that part of college, hopefully I don’t have a creeper for a roommate.” 

Claire is also heading for UW-Eau Claire and planning on becoming an elementary school teacher with emphasis on middle school math.  She has decided to take part in the intramurals and hopes to study abroad in Latin America or Europe.  She is also concerned about the roommate situation, but she stated, “If it is an issue I’ll just visit my sister to get away from her.”

Richard Peksa, an honor student and one of the captains of the Newman Catholic football team, is planning on going to Marquette to study engineering. “Marquette has a very rich history of academic excellence and that was one of the reasons I decided I will enroll there for next fall,” Peksa said.

Other students are going to a variety of schools; Melissa Vessel is going to UW-Milwaukee and studying dance in hopes of opening up her own dance studio and doing what she loves for a living.  She is looking very much forward to going to Africa during her sophomore year to study African dance.  She is also planning on being in a dance company in college, but once she graduates she does not wish to pursue that field of dance; rather she wants to instill dance in young minds.

Carson Rufledt is going to Kansas University to study Pre-Med in hopes of becoming a general practitioner. He says of the long move away from Wausau, “The thing I will miss most will be my family and friends, but I am ready to take on the world and hopefully do what I have always dreamed of doing.”

Luke Prososki is one of those students who have yet to pick a school.  He is considering Cal State Fullerton, Columbia, Minnesota, Princeton, and UCLA for his next level in education. Prososki has narrowed his list down to five, and all of those schools have great resources to helping him develop skills for his future.

Quite a few students at NCHS, including Andrew Wilke and Brad Gottschalk, are considering going to the UW-Marathon County for a year or two and then transferring; that route has been very helpful for many students from Newman Catholic in the past.

Whatever the graduating class of 2011 decides to do, they will do it will great dignity and respect, and even though they will surely be missed at Newman Catholic High School, they will never be forgotten and we cannot wait to see what great things they will accomplish in the future.

Good luck and may God bless the Class of 2011.