‘Don’t spend so much time worrying’

McKenzie Mueller is the daughter of Rich and Penni Mueller of Ellendale. She has two brothers, Matthew and Jordan.

 

Mueller’s plans for this fall are to attend the University of Minnesota, Duluth, where she will major in exercise and rehabilitation science; she plans a career as a physical therapist.

 

While in school, Mueller has been an editor of the yearbook. She has worked as a teacher’s assistant, was selected for the National Honor Society, and was a manager for the soccer team.

 

Mueller has volunteered for ditch cleanup projects and has worked at the Ellendale area food shelf. She has worked for Kiesler’s Campground in Waseca.

 

Of being acknowledged as a co-Salutatorian, she said, “I am extremely proud to have attained this achievement. I’m glad all my hard work over these years has paid off.”

 

Mueller comments, “My family has never pushed for perfection, but only asked that I give my all.” She said her family members have taken to “telling everyone” about her achievement because they are so proud.

 

Her suggestion to younger students is: “Ask for help. Teaches are always willing to help, especially with our smaller class sizes; keeping a good relationship with your teachers is also never a bad idea.”

 

Mueller comments that she did not set herself a goal of earning a near-perfect grade point average (3.99). She said that, since she took a fair number of college-level, post-secondary enrollment option (PSEO) courses during her junior and senior years, she was especially uncertain about continuing to earn high grades. “It was extremely hard to excel in college classes. In the end, it paid off.”

 

As she leaves high school, Mueller says she will miss the people she has worked with and gotten to know. She names school counselor Liz Stiernagle, administrative assistant Barb Hagen, technology coordinators Angie Aaseth and Nate Jensen, yearbook advisor Cortney Klocek. She says she will also miss the opportunity to be present as the younger students she has gotten to know through sports and organizations continue to mature.”

 

Among her favorite memories has been sitting among her fellow students at volleyball, football and basketball games. As a cheerleader, she loved “getting to dress up and cheer on our sports teams,” including being selected as “Panther Fan of the Game” for two sports seasons.

 

She says her favorite classes were “anything science-related,” including anatomy, biology and forensics. She names history as her least favorite subject “because I’m extremely bad with dates and names.”

 

Her favorite teachers were Joan Olson, who made learning Spanish “fun and easy”; Susan Schaub, who “went out of her way to help us learn math”; Neil Fuchs who “treated us as adults in class and made it fun as we learned”; and Jennifer Hatton, who “went above and beyond to make her classes hands-on and fun to participate in.”

 

She looks forward to meeting new people in college and moving to a new city where she can explore and become more familiar. Ten years from now, she pictures herself as having finished graduate school and working as a physical therapist, “whatever that might mean.”

 

If she could travel back in time and offer herself advice as she entered high school, she would have advised, “Don’t spend so much time worrying about what others think; in the end, it doesn’t matter. Don’t waste time on things that will not matter in a day, let alone a week.”