Daniels excels in spite of hectic schedule

Lauren Daniels, the 2017 Wilmot Valedictorian, is Westosha Report’s Outstanding Senior (Submitted/The Report).

Wilmot Valedictorian named Outstanding Senior

By Jason Arndt
Editor

When Lauren Daniels isn’t in the classroom, she is either volunteering for a wide array of community organizations, working at the Club at Strawberry Creek or hitting the court as a member of the Wilmot Union High School varsity volleyball team.

Daniels, the 2017 Valedictorian, was selected as Westosha Report’s Outstanding Senior among four nominated by the school. She received selection after Report staff voted on all four seniors.

The Outstanding Senior, a Twin Lakes resident, is the daughter of Monte and Michaela Daniels.

According to Wilmot counselor Jessica Runte, Daniels has accepted her achievements with grace.

“She’s a positive leader in our building who is well-respected by staff and students,” Runte said. “She’s our Valedictorian, but is extremely down to earth, not boastful.”

Through her four years at Wilmot, Daniels earned an Academic Excellence Scholarship, Scholar-Athlete Award and stayed actively involved in the Wilmot school community.

Daniels’ activities included HOSA, a health organization, followed by an induction into the National Honor Society her sophomore year.

From there, she served as varsity baseball manger and on the Link Crew her junior year before joining the Conference Academic Bowl team as a senior.

Elsewhere, Daniels served meals at Love, Inc. in Burlington, volunteered at church fish boils, offered her time at Aurora Sinai Medical Center and contributed to youth volleyball programs.

Daniels, a team captain on the volleyball team, has received a varsity letter since her freshman year.

Additionally, Daniels earned Southern Lakes Conference honorable mention twice.

“She is very hard working and not afraid of a challenge,” she said. “She doesn’t take study halls, but fills her schedule with AP and college prep classes.”

Daniels expects to attend the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where she plans to study biology, with hopes of entering the obstetrician/gynecological field.

Her pursuit does not come as a surprise for Runte, who has witnessed her growth in the school’s Project Lead the Way courses.

“She’s been in all of our PLTW Biomedical Science classes and that has inspired her even more to go into the medical field,” Runte said.

Other nominees for Outstanding Senior were, in alphabetical order, Devin Coleman, Josh Schattner and Hannah Vozel.

Coleman, of Trevor, is the daughter of Michael and Diane Coleman.
She plans to study biology with an emphasis in either pre-medicine or pre-optometry at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Academically, Coleman was named to the school high honor roll from 2013-17, which led to an induction to the National Honor Society in 2014. She later served on the NHS Communications Board in 2016-17.

While balancing an academic workload, Coleman showed leadership inside the school, where she was a member of Link Crew from 2015-16.

Also, her leadership translated to three sports, where she accumulated 11 varsity letters.

Coleman, a setter on the volleyball team, was the Most Valuable Player from 2014-16, earned first-team Southern Lakes Conference her senior season. She also was named honorable mention as a sophomore.

Coleman’s on court leadership helped steer the Panthers volleyball team to its best finish in at least 10 years.

Furthermore, Coleman served as the point guard on the Panthers basketball team, where she notched three varsity letters.

As part of her role on the basketball, she stepped in to help coaches and teammates in the Panthers’ Mighty Mites program, which serves area students from kindergarten through second grade. In her senior season for the Panthers, she earned honorable mention SLC and received the Captain’s Award.

Furthermore, Coleman picked up four varsity letters as a member of the girls soccer team.

In the community, Coleman volunteered as a referee for the Randall Recreation department and helped the Aquanuts in its Adaptive Aquatics program.

For employment, Coleman worked 15 hours per week at Coleman Tool in the summer.

Schattner, of Twin Lakes, is the son of Steve and Denise Schattner.
In his four years at Wilmot, Schattner achieved top academic honors, ranking in the Top 10 percent in the Class of 2017.

Schattner, who has third highest grade point average, earned him a scholarship.

For Schattner’s academic efforts, he received induction to the National Honor Society in his sophomore year.

Schattner contributed to NHS community service projects and volunteered at St. Johns and St. Alphonsus.

Additionally, he worked at Wilmot Stage Stop and El Sinaloense in Twin Lakes for one year each, contributing 12-18 hours of work per week at both places.

When he was not in the classroom, Schattner contributed to Wilmot athletic program, which included varsity letters in basketball and baseball.

Noting his potential in baseball and in the classroom, Schattner signed a National Letter of Intent to play the sport at Winona State University, where he plans to major in Composite Materials Engineering.

Vozel, of Burlington, is the daughter of Jason and Shirley Vozel.
Inside the classroom, Vozel earned multiple academic honors, including a commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Additionally, Vozel is an AP Scholar, seven semester honor roll students and received the Wisconsin Academic Excellence Award.

Vozel, who competed in cross country and track, was named a Scholar Athlete. Vozel went the distance for the varsity cross country team from 2014-15, and in 2016, she ran for the track team.

Along with her academic accolades, she picked up extra-curricular activities at Wilmot, including Key Club, Art Club and Marketing and Business Association. She served all three clubs from 2013-14.

Within the community, where she worked as a housekeeper for three summers, Vozel also offered her time as an Equine Rescue Volunteer from 2014-15.

Vozel, who plans to attend Montana State University, received the school’s Top Tier Merit Scholarship.


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