Racine Lutheran Valedictorian Reflects on Success

Jess Flick, of Caledonia, said he’s lucky he’s one of those people who really doesn’t have to study a lot to be academically successful.

As the 2011 Valedictorian of Racine Lutheran High School, he paid attention in his classes, played sports and also worked about 20 hours per week throughout the school year. It all paid off, as he’s earned several scholarships for his studies at Marquette University, beginning this fall.

“I just did the best I could and if I didn’t score well and didn’t like that, then I just worked harder to change that,” said Flick, who achieved a 3.99 GPA.

He was disappointed he scored a 27 on the ACT, as his sights were set on scoring in the 30s. Still he earned Wisconsin Academic Excellence Scholarship, Marquette University Ignatius Scholarship, Marquette Scholars Fund Business Administration Scholarship, Marquette Leadership Scholars Business Administration Scholarship, Walter Curtis Palmer Scholarship, and the Racine Lutheran High School Scholastic/Athletic Excellence Award.

During his high school tenure, a couple of faculty impacted his success, he said.

“Mr. (Daniel) Jensen was my guidance counselor and my AP history teacher. I thought he was a really smart guy and a really good teacher,” he said. “And he always pushed me more and he always wanted more from his students. We had to do a lot of writing in his class, and he wanted us to explain and elaborate on our points, which was really good for me.”

Flick played football his senior year and golf all four years. He averaged 43 for 9 holes and was selected as MVP of Racine Lutheran’s team.  He was also a member of National Honor Society and said he enjoyed competing in the Junior Engineering Testing program, in which Racine Lutheran’s team placed 14^th in the nation. The test presents math questions, and Flick said that’s a strong area for him. 

Tim Lorenz, his math teacher, was one of his favorite instructors.

“He was pretty fun, and I took physics and calculus,” Flick said. He also studied AP history and English.

During the summer, Flick will continue working at Dairy Queen, where he’s had a job for a couple of years.

He said attending Marquette University has special meaning for him because his late father Jon graduated from the school in electrical engineering. Flick’s mother is Kathleen Flick.