Crookston Rotary Club recognizes Students of the Month for both Crookston High School and the University of Minnesota Crookston throughout the school year and the most recent CHS students honored are Sarah Ryan, Student of the Month for November 2019, and Caden Osborn, Student of the Month for December 2019. Each student honored receives a $100 scholarship and CHS students receive theirs at the end of the school year at the Triple A Banquet.
SARAH RYAN
“Hello! My name is Sarah Ryan. I am the daughter of Chad and Joanne Ryan. A fun fact about me is I can completely solve a Rubix Cube in under five minutes. I am currently a senior at Crookston High School and have done numerous activities throughout my high school career. I play violin in Concert Orchestra as well as ensembles such as Valley Fiddlers and Pop Strings. I also sing in Concert Choir, and in a fun ensemble named Pop Choir. I enjoy music because it is a great way to express myself and grow closer to my friends.
My all-time favorite activity is theatre. I was in my first production when I was seven years old and have loved the stage ever since. I have done multiple One Act and Three Act play productions at CHS. One Act is a half-hour long play in which we compete with nearby schools. Three Act is a two and half-hour long play that alternates between a drama and a musical every year. I am currently working on a One Act production of The Remarkable Susan, and I am looking forward to competing in January.
Along with performing at school, I also perform at church. I became a cantor at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception when I was in sixth grade and have been song-leading there for six years. I also sing in the Life Teen Choir at youth-led Masses. Outside of Mass, I enjoy subbing for Adoration and being an Apostle. Being an Apostle means I lead games and small group discussions at seventh and eighth-grade Religious Education classes. Apostles allows me to share my faith with younger teens while having fun and learning about my faith.
I also enjoy being active around the community. I am involved in the CHS Leo Club, where I perform volunteer activities around town. My two favorite Leo Club projects are packing boxes at the food bank and playing BINGO with the senior citizens at the Villa. In the summer, I act as a “Volunteer” at the Crookston Public Library, where I help out with weekly summer activities for kids. You may also see me working part-time as a cashier at Hugo’s Family Marketplace.
Last summer in June I attended American Legion Auxiliary Minnesota Girls State at Bethel University in St. Paul. I enjoyed spending a week with empowering women as I learned more about local, state, and county government. I also participated in the Miss Crookston Scholarship Pageant, where I won the talent portion and finished Second Runner-Up overall. After high school, I plan on attending either the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks or Minnesota State University Moorhead to pursue a degree in Accounting.
I would like to thank the Rotary for considering me for this award. It is an honor to be chosen as the Student of the Month for November. Thank you for supporting our youth and our community.”
CADEN OSBORN
“Hello! My name is Caden Osborn. I am the son of Doug and Jessica Osborn and the oldest of 4 children. I have a 15-year-old sister named Emma, a 10 year old brother named Colton and a 1 year old brother named Cutler. I was born in Kansas City, Missouri and was fortunate enough to move to Crookston when I was 4 years old. The decision to move here was to live closer to family and later attend school in the same town my mom grew up and graduated from.
One fun fact about myself is that I assisted in the training of a Search and Rescue dog. What does that mean exactly? Well, I gave an article of clothing to the trainer for the dog and then hid. This hiding technique was done after crossing a specific number of terrains, long distance, short distance, with and without wind and multiple other factors in between. We trained in multiple fields, cemeteries, rivers and streams. One training session I will never forget was when I was asked to go down by the river, across from the Fire Hall. Being taught to never go by the river as a little kid, I knew to be careful and the next thing I knew, my size 15 shoe was caught and I went tumbling down, very close to the river’s edge. On the bright side, I knew we were making progress with the training because the dog found the spot I tumbled down to and then quickly found me and my shoe several feet away.
I am involved in multiple in school and out of school activities. To begin, I am a 3-sport athlete, which includes football, basketball and track. My love for football began in 5th grade playing flag football and sadly the football season this year is done. My favorite sport is basketball. I am the Captain of our basketball team and have been playing since I was 4 years old. I have had the opportunity to compete at different levels outside of school as well. This past spring, I traveled back and forth to Morris 2 days a week, after being recruited on an AAU basketball team. Once our AAU season ended, I was invited to play in the MN Top 100 Showcase at St. Cloud State University, which gave me the opportunity to play with some of the top athletes in the state. In the spring, I compete in track. I am a thrower, high jumper and compete once a year in the 2-mile run. Now, if you are looking up at me right now, I do not exactly look like a runner, so it is always interesting to see all of the other runner’s faces when I get onto the starting line. With my experience in athletics, I have learned the importance of leadership, teamwork and how hard work pays off.
I have been part of the CHS Leo Club for 4 years and have had the opportunity to help so many in the community because of this. Just a few activities including delivering Home Delivered Food, putting together food boxes, delivering holiday food boxes to local families, walking dogs at the Humane Society and assisting with special nights at the elementary schools. It is always a good feeling to give back to the community on a personal level and this gives me the perfect opportunity to do just that.
I am also a viola player in the Crookston Orchestra and have been playing for 8 years. Being part of the orchestra music program has been a very unique experience. The group is made up of 9th-12th graders and we are all quite close. Just last weekend, we all came together, planned, decorated, served and performed at the Classic Noel. It was a fantastic time for everyone involved.
If I look familiar, but you haven’t seen me on the basketball court or performing on stage, I am also employed at RBJ’s Restaurant. So, the next time you stop in for chicken or their famous jam over the weekend, I will likely be your server. Come say hi for sure.
My future goals are to attend college for Civil Engineering at South Dakota State University or the University of Minnesota Duluth. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Rotary for the December nomination, as well as for supporting youth like myself and our community on a daily basis.”
