Student of the Month

The Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club honored Morgan Klug as their final winner of the Student of the Month Award on Tuesday, 5/5/2020. Morgan is a senior at Homestead High School and will be attending University of Wisconsin Milwaukee this fall and will major in Psychology. Morgan aspires to attain a career in the non-profit sector upon graduating college.

Morgan was selected as the May Student of the Month for her community service and leadership among various clubs and organizations within her school and community. Morgan is the Vice President of the Interact Club, a youth chapter of Rotary that focuses on community service within her school and community. Some of the projects she lead included the annual Trick or Treat 4 Hunger supporting Ozaukee Family Sharing, book drives, and making blankets for local shelters. She helped to raise over $1,000 by selling bracelets for a Guatemala service project. Morgan was also recognized as a Student of the Year candidate in the Milwaukee Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for helping to raise $45,000 for the organization.

Morgan is a member of the Homestead National Honor Society and a Merit Award recipient for the past 3 years. One of her passions is within the Speech / Forensics club at Homestead. She is the president of the club and qualified for nationals and placed 6^th in the state for speech.

Morgan, we thank you for your “service above self” and all that you do for your service and community!

Student of the Month - Anna Gilgur

The Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club honored Anna Gilgur as the April Student of the Month. Anna is a senior at Homestead High School and is the daughter of Vladimir and Elina Gilgur of Mequon. Anna is a member of the National Honor Society, a 2 year Merit Award recipient, a 4 year member of the cross country team, the lead scorer for Homestead’s JV soccer team and was a first violin for Homestead’s symphony orchestra.

Anna has distinguished herself as someone who truly cares about giving back to her school and community. From 8^th grade through her senior year of high school she has volunteered at the Ovation Senior Living Center in Mequon. She primarily volunteered within the Memory Care unit, helping with different stimulating activities for the residents. Anna was nationally recognized with a grant for GEMS (Girls Exploring Math & Science) by the EgGS Initiative (Engaging Girls in Steam), which is a foundation that supports young women in the field of STEM. She is also a founder of the local chapter of “She’s the First”, which is an organization that fights for gender equality in oppressive countries by fundraising for education.

Anna is also passionate about her research projects. She is as an AP Scholar at Homestead and is currently working on a research project studying to lower sedation / general anesthesia rates for MRIs among pediatric patients. She has worked with various prestigious hospitals getting them to complete her surveys and plans to submit her work to the college board within the next month.

Anna will be attending University of Southern California this fall and will major in bio-chemical engineering. Anna was named a Presidential Scholar by USC. She plans to attend medical school afterward to become a surgeon. Anna, we are very proud of all of your accomplishments and thank you for your “service above self”!

Student of the Month January: Aubrey Wycklendt

Pictured above from left to right: Shawn Wycklendt (Aubrey's mom), Aubrey Wycklendt (Student of the Month), Debra (Aubrey's aunt) and Rachel Wycklendt (Aubrey's sister)

The Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club honored Aubrey Wycklendt as the January Student of the Month. Aubrey is a senior at Homestead High School and is the daughter of Shawn & Craig Wycklendt of Mequon.

Aubrey is an honor student at Homestead High School and a member of the National Honor Society. She has been an active member of the Latin Club for the past 4 years, and has participated in the Roses program as well as the theatre costume department. She has also volunteered at Ascension’s Ozaukee campus in the pharmacy department.

One of her most impactful service projects was the mentor program she participated in at Wilson Elementary School. She has been a mentor to 4th grade female African American students for the past 2 years. She has been a leader to these young students helping them to become confident future leaders like herself.

Aubrey will be attending the University of Alabama this fall. Aubrey, we thank you for your “service above self” and all that you do for your school and community!

Student of the Month Jake Kallas

Posted by Megan Borland

The Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club honored our first Student of the Month, Jake Kallas, for the 2019-2020 school year. Jake is a senior at Homestead High School and is the son of Bonnie and Perry Kallas of Thiensville. He is an Eagle Scout, he has received the Merit Award all 3 years of high school, is a member of the National Honor Society, and a trumpet section leader for the Homestead Marching and Symphonic Band.

Jake has distinguished himself as someone who truly cares about giving back to his community. He has participated in several volunteer projects including Gathering on the Green, Family Fun Before the Fourth, and Lionsfest. Some of his most impactful projects include achieving his Eagle Scout Award. Jake’s projects included building planter boxes for Lasata as well as collecting toiletries for a homeless shelter in Milwaukee. Jake has also volunteered for the Riverwest Food Pantry Christmas gift program for the past 6 years, which involved collecting and wrapping gifts each Christmas.

Jake, we thank you for your “service above self” and all that you do for your community!

Student of the Month - Lauren Grueninger

Posted by Megan Borland on Nov 27, 2018

Pictured above: Rob Kos (President-Elect), Lauren Grueninger (Student of the Month), Jill Grueninger (Lauren's Mother) and Megan Borland (Vocational Director)

The Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Club honored our first Student of the Month, Lauren Grueninger, for the 2018-2019 school year. Lauren is a senior at Homestead High School. She is an honor student, she has received the Merit Award all 3 years of high school, and she is a member of the National Honor Society. She represented Homestead at Badger Girls State this past summer and has participated in numerous clubs and activities at Homestead, including the Rotary Interact Club.

Lauren has distinguished herself as someone who has taken action to make a difference in the lives of others. One of her most impactful service projects was for St. Hyacinth’s Food Pantry on the south side of Milwaukee. She started volunteering as a greeter every Wednesday afternoon. During the first week she was there she noticed the “free books” shelf had very few books available. Reading and education are Lauren’s passions and she wanted to share that experience with the children at St. Hyacinth. She started a book drive which expanded into collecting school supplies as well. She collaborated with local businesses to hold a brat fry and a bake sale and collected $975. She also established donation bins at her church and local schools to collect new and used books and school supplies. Lauren collected over 2,500 books, 102 backpacks and a truckload of school supplies for the children at St. Hyacinth. One of the most rewarding aspects of her service was distributing all of the supplies to the children. Lauren shared a story with our club about one little boy who fell in love with a Batman backpack as she was distributing supplies. She remembers him being overjoyed when she told him it was his to keep.

Lauren, we thank you for your “service above self” and all that you do for your school and community!

Megan Borland, Vocational Services Director, awards the 2016 Rotary Scholarship to Allison Rowe at the Homestead High School Awards Program on May 23rd.

"Good evening, my name is Megan Borland and I am here on behalf of the Thiensville-Mequon rotary club to present our annual scholarship award. This award is the culmination of our “Student of the Month” program, a program designed to recognize Homestead Students who are leaders within their community and school and have donated a significant amount of their time and effort to community service.

"In years past, we have awarded this individual with a $1,000 scholarship. However, this year, in lieu of receiving the scholarship, our recipient will actually be donating that money back to the Rotary Foundation. This generous gift will allow Rotary to continue to make a difference in the lives of millions of people around the world. So tonight, not only are we recognizing this individual with the “Student of the Month” award, but we will also be recognizing them as a “Paul Harris Fellow”.

"Paul Harris is one of the founders of rotary and the “Paul Harris Fellow” recognition is given to those individuals that donate $1,000 to Rotary International. This student will be one of the youngest Paul Harris fellows to receive this designation. This student will join many other notable figures that have been named as Paul Harris fellows, such as Mother Theresa, President Jimmy Carter, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin, to name a few.

"This year’s Student of the Month Scholarship Award is an individual who truly exemplifies our club’s motto of “service above self”. I am very excited to present this year’s award to Allison Rowe."

Bruce Rowe, Laura Rowe, Allison Rowe, T-M Rotary President Pam Koch, and Megan Borland, Vocational Services Director

December of 2004 saw the initiation of the T-M Rotary Student of the Month program. The mission of this program is to honor students who have distinguished themselves on the basis of high scholarship, demonstrated service and volunteerism to their school, their community and their church. The selected student and his/her parents are invited to a Rotary lunch meeting and honored with a framed Recognition Certificate. Honored students may be eligible for a Rotary scholarship.

2015 Scholarship Recipient