Buffalo Seniors Kaitlyn Schendel and John Bjork were awarded the AAA award during academic excellence. The AAA award is an award given to two high school seniors who have a 3.0 GPA or higher, participate in a MSHSL sport, and are involved in a fine art activity.
The process for being chosen is a long one. It starts with Activities Director Tom Bauman pulling a list of seniors that have a cumulative GPA of 3.67 or higher. After that he has the counselors help him go through the list and determine the level of class rigor those students have taken. Then they look at what activities those seniors are involved in. For every arts and athletics activity the student is participating in, they earn a point. The more points a student earns, the more a student is considered for the award. Then, Bauman makes a list of the top kids and informally asks teachers for their input on those students. Bauman ultimately makes the final decision about who he thinks best describes the AAA award all around.
Bauman explained why Kaitlyn and John were chosen.
“I got to watch John and talk to kids about John and how he approaches things, and the statement I pulled about him was that he does it quietly, not looking for recognition. That’s a big reason why he was picked,” Bauman said. “And Kaitlyn, she is really humble, she’s a strong swimmer and a very good teammate.”
“It is a true honor to represent BHS and my fellow classmates,” Schendel said. “I am proud to carry the Triple A award, it means a lot to me and I truly appreciate it.”
“It’s definitely an honor to know that people think highly of you and are recognized for multiple things,” said Bjork.
Bauman ended with, “So, if I were to just describe them in one word it would be, “package-deal”, all around they’re both just the package deal.”
Photo by Grace West
