Lisbon’s senior roundtable consisted of students Rachel Masters, Justin Miksch, Henry Streuber, Gavin Wollum and Carter Hall.
Favorite memories“Definitely going to Drake Relays,” Streuber said was one of his favorite memories. “It was a great experience. I was able to see Olympic athletes run on the blue oval, and it was just a great experience to have with my team.”
“Just the time spent backstage of the many plays and musicals,” Miksch said. “Not only did we put in the work to put in an amazing show, but we did so as part of a group and came together to make that art.”
“Meeting new people and making friends for life,” Masters said.
“Playing sports with my friends,” Wollum said. “When you’re playing at the high school, it’s a whole different level than the games we played in elementary or middle school.”
“Got to be our trips to state track and state cross country,” Hall said. “Those were the one last chances we got to show all the work we put in over the course of a season.”
Favorite activities Strueber was involved with track, cross country, speech, theatre, band and choir, but his favorite was speech.
“I was in short film several years of speech contest, and that gave me a chance to show off my skills in movie making. It’s something I don’t get to do everyday, and having our videos make it to All State and get to watch 100s of other outstanding videos from across the state of Iowa is something I’ll always love.”
Miksch was involved in band, choir, speech and theatre.
“For me, my favorite is tied with band and speech,” Miksch said. “In speech, I participated in different events each year, and got to experience different categories and their rules. In band, I just love getting into the music we’re performing.”
Wollum was involved in football, basketball and track and loves football.
“We practiced on hot days, where it’s in the 90s and you just want our pads to come off, and on cold days at the end of fall, where there’s snow lightly falling and it’s cold. You’d have crowds of fans out to cheer you on every Friday evening as well. It was the coolest thing ever.”
For Hall, who was in basketball, track and cross country, basketball was his favorite activity.
“It was a close tie between basketball and track until this past season,” Hall said. “Last year was just one of the best years our basketball team has ever had, and just an experience I’ll never forget. I’ve been playing alongside many of these guys since my third and fourth grade years.”
Masters has been involved in band, choir, student council, theatre, speech and Girl Scouts.
“For me, fine arts has been my favorite activity,” Masters said. “There was a time in my sophomore year I was going through a hard time in life, and lost interest in some of my past activities. Those teachers in the fine arts were the ones who brought me back to my love of performing and those stages.”
What they’re going to miss most“The people,” Masters said. “Some of them are my lifelong friends, and some of them are moving very far away from me next year.”
“Definitely my friends.” Wollum said. “These are the kids I grew up with my whole life.”
“Getting to perform with jazz bands or at state competitions,” Streuber said. “I’m going to miss that lot.”
“Just the atmosphere of Lisbon schools,” Miksch said. “This is a tight knit community, and it’s going to be hard to lose that.”
“The people and friends I made,” Hall said. “I’ve known many of these kids since fourth grade. Just moving two hours away and having to make new friends is a little scary.”
Teachers/coaches that influenced
them the mostJulie Stulken, Joseph Arch and Mr. Kilburg were Masters’ picks.
“Those have been my top three supporters throughout high school,” Masters said. “Mr. arch got me to join band my junior year. I struggled a lot in school, and Kilburg was there for me as a teacher and professionally, as well as a friend.”
For Miksch, it was J’Nee Reade or Ellen Johanns.
“If I wasn’t getting something correct after numerous tries, they were still my biggest supporters and showing up to help me be my best.”
Wollum said that his was definitely coach Brandon Horman.
“I learned more in the two years Horman was a coach of the basketball team,” Wollum said. “He taught more than just the sport, he taught us life sills I’ll take with me well after my time on the court.”
Streuber said his would have to be coach Casey Baxa.
“He always has pushed me to be the best I can be so hard and to give everything 110 percent,” Streuber said. “Johnanns was my favorite teacher because of her sense of humor. She could tell when I was joking.”
Hall’s coach who made an impact was cross country coach Kory Swart.
“He was a good friend, and would always ask how my day was going and asked about weekends we had during the season.”
Advice to younger generations “Put some effort in and care,” Miksch said.
Miksch explained when he started high school, he didn’t care much about his grades at first and didn’t put in the effort he should have.
“I eventually improved and my grades got better, but it would have been so much smoother if I had cared about my grades early on and gave it an effort,” Miksch said.
Streuber encouraged students to not be afraid to try new things or sports.
“Four years is a lot shorter time than you think,” Streuber said.
Wollum said that he was probably the shyest kid at the beginning of high school, but has made friends with all ages as he’s gotten more involved. His advice to students – “stop caring what other people think about you.”
“Do the things that make you happy and you want to do,” Wollum said. “When you stop caring about what other people think about you, you get more relaxed.”
“Don’t be so quiet in high school,” Hall said. “High school is a chance to branch out and try new things.”
Hopes/dreams for the future
of Lisbon Schools“I really hope the shop class they’re looking into becomes a reality,” Wollum said. “That’s going to be a big thing for this community, especially with a designated weight room space. Hopefully they can find a coach that encourages athletes to use that weight room and start pushing more strength and conditioning training for our athletes.”
“I want to see the fine arts programs continuing to flourish,” Miksch said. “Choir and band programs are already excellent, and with a new drama teacher coming in, there’s so much potential for them to tap into.”
Masters seconded that, noting the program already is in great hands, but she wants students to have as much fun on those stages as she had.
Streuber said he wants to see the speech program finally get one of those coveted All-State banners, as well as a state title in jazz band.
“I hope that sports and activities continue to get better in the future,” Hall said.