Community Helps Celebrate Broad Range of Achievements for School District of New Berlin Seniors

The end of the school year brought special recognition in the form of scholarships and awards for district seniors who were celebrated during Senior Honors Night for achieving excellence on some level during their years here in the School District of New Berlin. Academic achievements were recognized along with the broad range of talents the district is committed to developing among its student body, in alignment with its “Vision of the Graduate”. Community partners including businesses, organizations and families played an integral role in helping fund scholarships to reward our students for their efforts and achievements.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that our graduates are college and career ready, it is important to formally acknowledge the varied achievements these students have accomplished during their four years here in New Berlin,” Superintendent Joe Garza said. “The district strives to provide all students with appropriate opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary for post-secondary success; these students have not only met, but exceeded our expectations in those key areas.”

Recognition for student achievements ranged from academics, to athletics, arts, STEM, student government and community service. A sampling of the awards celebrating these talents included:

Wisconsin Higher Education Aid Board Scholarships (buildings nominate top performers in each category):

• Academic Excellence: Teresa Wan and Abby Groendal, New Berlin West; Riya Mehta and Caroline Seymour, New Berlin Eisenhower
• Technical Excellence: Timothy Becker and Joshua Buechs, West; Joel Luna and Callie Waldoch, Eisenhower

Success in the 21st century requires students not only be well educated but also technically capable within their chosen field. The following students were recognized for demonstrating excellence in technical coursework aligned to a specific area of interest and received Technical Honors:

New Berlin West:

• Molly Austad (Health Science)
• Tim Becker (AV Tech & Communications)
• Anna Bennett (AV Tech & Communications)
• Brianna Duszynski (Health Science)
• Mikayla Hamann (AV Tech & Communications)
• Kevin Kearn (Engineering)
• Jenna Linssen (AV Tech & Communications)
• Kasey Lukach (Health Science)
• Maxwell Meleski (Health Science)
• Nathan Miller (Engineering)
• Yue Yang Mo (Health Science)
• Christa Modrow (AV Tech & Communications)
• Nicholas Piotrowski (Engineering)
• Alyssa Rawski (AV Tech & Communications)
• Mikayla Riecica (Health Science)
• Benjamin Salfer (AV Tech & Communications)
• Matthew Schmidt (Engineering)
• Emily Siegel (Health Science)
• Ryan Thompson (Engineering)
• Maryam Turner (Engineering)
• Thomas VanZile (Engineering)
• Alyssa Ward (Engineering)
• Jaclyn Windorff (Computer Science/IT)

New Berlin Eisenhower:

• Hailey Anderson (Engineering)
• Jack Angiolo (Engineering)
• Ryan Bratel (Engineering and Computer Science)
• Constantinos Copoulos (Engineering)
• Charles Grotkin (Engineering)
• Michael Keller (Engineering)
• Cade Koski (Health Science)
• Xavier Loomer (Engineering)
• Sean Moore (Engineering)
• Evan Muchenberger (Engineering)
• Jacob Olp (Engineering)
• Matthew Rolefson (Engineering)
• Thomas Sievert (Engineering and Computer Science)
• Jason Utz (Engineering)

Our local chapter of the Society of Women Engineers honors young women who have demonstrated an aptitude for success in STEM careers. The 2017 recipients earning a Certificate of Merit were:

New Berlin West

• Kathryn Goodspeed
• Rebecca Martin
• Colleen Muffler
• Jaclyn Windorff

New Berlin Eisenhower

• Hailey Anderson
• Riley Fischer
• Jennifer Kilps
• Megan Russell
• Alexia Smits

Fine Arts Scholarships/Awards recognize students with exceptional creativity, a cornerstone for innovation:

• Jacob Thies, (New Berlin Eisenhower), Dale J. Bigus Scholarship
• Brendan Sienko, (New Berlin Eisenhower) National Federation of Music Clubs Award
• Tyler Neutgens and Caitlyn Woldanski, New Berlin West Fine Arts Scholarship
• Rebecca Reif, New Berlin West Theatre Arts Thespian of the Year Award

Student Government Scholarships/Awards recognize students with outstanding leadership, community engagement and service throughout their four years in high school:

• Jenny Thao, New Berlin West Leadership Award
• Ruwandi Wijenayake, New Berlin West School Spirit Award
• Alexandria Blaine, New Berlin West Involvement Award
• Emily Brill, Eisenhower Student Union Scholarship

SDNB's athletics programs provide opportunities for students to work toward common goals and compete both as a team and individually to continually improve skills while developing a strong work ethic, leadership capabilities and perseverance. This year’s WIAA scholar athletes of the year were:

• Dane Detert and Teresa Wan at New Berlin West
• Caila Bachmann and Matthew Rolefson at New Berlin Eisenhower

The district’s service programs provide an opportunity to demonstrate compassion and a level of concern and regard for the well-being of others. These students have demonstrated an aptitude to become true change makers in their communities:

• New Berlin West Humanitarian Awards: Kasey Lukach and Ruwandi Wijenayake
• New Berlin West National Honor Society: Leah Mushall and Anna Klingbeil
• New Berlin Eisenhower National Honor Society: Hailey Anderson and Caila Bachmann
• American Red Cross Blood Drive Scholarship: Emma Grellinger and Deborah Woo (Eisenhower)

More than $4 million in scholarship money was awarded to the district’s class of 2017. In addition to scholarship money awarded by the colleges and universities our students will be attending in the fall, as well as those provided by corporate and national scholarship programs, a number of local community and/or alumni organizations, as well as individual families, supported our efforts to recognize excellence through their own award or scholarship programs. The School District of New Berlin recognizes the generosity of the following families and organizations:

School District of New Berlin Alumni who continue their class legacy through these scholarship funds:

• New Berlin West Class of 1983 Scholarship
• New Berlin West Class of 2011 Scholarship

Memorial Scholarships in which families honor loved ones through endowments in their name:

• R. Daniel Nettesheim Memorial Scholarship - 6 scholarships awarded
• Mike Dillett Memorial Soccer Scholarship (West) - 4 scholarships awarded
• April Chesny Memorial Scholarship (West) - 1 scholarship awarded

Community organizations and families who, through their own annual award and/or scholarship programs, support our efforts to recognize excellence in our students:

• New Berlin Community Scholarship Fund
• Prospect Lions of New Berlin
• New Berlin Lions Club
• New Berlin Lioness Club
• New Berlin Junior Woman’s Club
• WaterStone Bank Scholarship Program
• Waukesha State Bank Scholarship Program

• Dale J. Bigus Scholarship (Eisenhower)
• Glenn R. Davis Foundation Scholarship
• Malone Family Scholarship Award (West)
• Kota-Cheedella Scholarship Fund (West)
• Emily Brooks Foundation Scholarship (West)
• Bell Family Athletic Scholarship (West)

“The breadth and depth of the awards handed out during Senior Honors Night are a great reflection of the collaborative efforts of the district, our families, post-secondary partners, public officials, businesses, and community organizations,” Garza added. “The dedication to fostering a learning environment that prepares our students for tomorrow’s global economy can only be accomplished when we’re ‘all in’.”