SJO Senior Spotlights with Dade Allinger, Karsyn Wetzel and Mallory Ames

Dade Allinger Clubs & Activities Boys’ Basketball (4 years) Youth Wrestling Spanish Club Chess Club

Dade Allinger moved to St. Joseph at the beginning of the school year with his family. He has four siblings, three brothers and one sister.

While he has only been a student at St. Joseph-Ogden High School for just one year, Allinger said he has made many great memories.

Trading his orange and blue Bulldog gear for Spartan maroon and Columbia blue, he wore #21 as a member of the boys' varsity basketball team this past winter.

He really enjoyed the electric environment of the Class 2A IHSA regional championship game hosted at St. Joseph-Ogden back in late February.

At the beginning of the season, he came off the bench to contribute five points in the Spartans' 74-39 win over Schlarman at the Toyota of Danville Classic in early December.

Allinger is thankful for the new friendships he cemented during the past nine months at SJO. Moving to the district from Mahomet, he appreciates how welcoming the community has been with him and meeting new people.

After graduation this spring, Allinger will start his college education at attend Parkland College in pursuit of degree in physical therapy. After finish up at Parkland, he plans to transfer to the University of Illinois to continue his studies.

His favorite classes in high school are Economics with Mr. Marshall Schacht and Business Management with Mr. Shawn Skinner.

And, when it comes to favorite teachers, he named Mr. Schacht and Mr. Eric Andracke, who was his woods teacher at Mahomet-Seymour High School, as his favorite instructors during his high school career.

His advice for future SJO students is to stay ahead on homework and to not be afraid to ask questions.

Allinger said his hobbies include spending time with friends and family.

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Karsyn Wetzel

Clubs & Activities Student Council (4 years) Drama Club (4 years) Chorus

After high school, Karsyn Wetzel plans to attend Eastern Illinois University and will major in middle school education with an English emphasis. One of her greatest memories at St. Joseph-Ogden High School was being a part of last year’s musical production, which she says is her absolute favorite experience. Wetzel said she has also enjoyed her role as a member of the executive board for the Student Council and will always remember Senior Night for the last home football game of the season. Her advice for future SJO students is to get involved, and to cherish time with friends because high school goes by way too fast. Wetzel's four favorite classes are U.S. History, Sociology, Advanced Civics, and English 101/102. Her favorite teachers throughout the years have been Mrs. Jeffers in 6th grade at St. Joseph Middle School and Mr. Marshall Schacht, Mr. Jeff Kieffer, and Mrs. Heather Lindenmeyer in high school. Wetzel lives in St. Joseph with her mom and dad and two younger brothers. Her hobbies include hanging out with family and friends and working.

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Mallory Ames

Mallory Ames' advice to future St. Joseph-Ogden students is don't sweat the small stuff and to live every day like it is your last. In addition to her interest in photography and cleaning, she likes hanging out with family and friends. How she finds the time for all three is mystery for a student who was actively involved in two sports and five clubs, including Spanish Club, We The People and FFA, during her high school career. As a member of the SJO FFA chapter, Ames placed 9th in a major career development event at State. At a land use career development event this past September, she earned a fourth-place individual ribbon and helped SJO to a second place team finish. She and other students competing in the land use competition evaluate soil characteristics including texture, slope and drainage. They then make recommendations for land treatments based on the use, whether it be agricultural, residential or urban. Clubs & Activities FFA (4 years), NHS, Bible Club Spanish Club, We The People AMP Program, Volleyball (2 years) Girls’ Basketball (1 year) She is also the Section 17 reporter, which covers 14 east central Illinois chapters including Arcola, ALAH, Fisher, GCMS, Heritage, Mahomet-Seymour, Monticello, PBL, Rantoul, Joesph-Ogden, Tuscola, Villa Grove, Urbana, and Unity in addition to St. Joseph-Ogden. She will also never forget the FFA Convention during her junior year in Indianapolis. The experience with friends was a lot of fun she said. Fellow students will remember Ames for her routine practice of screaming hello to social science teacher Don Beckett on a daily basis. After graduation, Mallory will move nine miles to the west to continue her education in Agri-Business and Ag Communications at the University of Illinois. She also plans to minor in Spanish. As her senior year comes to a close, Ames' favorite classes have been AP English IV with Mr. Ryan Searby and American History with Mr. Beckett. Ames' favorite teachers over the years have been Mr. Steele and Mrs. Cler at St. Joseph Middle School and Mrs. Duitsman at SJO. She lives in St. Joseph with her mom, dad, and a younger brother.

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Photos and text provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School

Meet the Class of 2020 - Four fantastic SJO seniors

Ashley Abbott

Clubs & Activities FFA Art Club Landscape Design

Ashley Abbott lives in St. Joseph with her dad and stepmother. She has three brothers and one sister. Her hobbies include playing video games, attending Art Club, and gardening. Abbott currently misses her daily high school schedule, but she is making the most of her time at home. After high school, she plans to attend Parkland College. She plans to transfer to a four-year university to major in landscape design after finishing her program at Parkland. Her favorite classes at St. Joseph-Ogden High School include Horticulture, Biology, and Art. This school year, Abbott really enjoyed all aspects of FFA and enjoys learning about all aspects of agriculture. Her favorite teachers at SJO are Mrs. Jennifer Brooks, Mrs. Darcy Nekolny, Mrs. Jeanna Kerner, Mrs. Ashley Krisman, and Mr. Don Beckett.

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Kendall Ayers

Clubs & Activities Scholastic Bowl Drama Club Chorus

Kendall Ayers lives in Royal with his mom and has two older brothers. His hobbies include playing video games, singing, and working on computers, and he has a passion for geology. His greatest memories at SJO are simply the great day-to-day interactions he has had over the years in high school. Ayers said he will always remember going to All State Chorus at Olivet Nazarene University, which was a huge accomplishment for him that he certainly should be proud of. After high school, he plans to take a vacation out west and will attend Parkland College as a member the Parkland Pathways program. His goal is to eventually transfer to the University of Illinois where he will major in computer engineering. His advice for future SJO students is "to get their foot in the door and to make an impression." Ayers said his two favorite classes at St. Joseph-Ogden High School are Physical Education and Chorus. His favorite all-time teachers are Mrs. Max, who was his 5th/6th grade teacher at Prairieview-Ogden, as well as Mrs. Steffen, Mr. Kieffer, Mr. Don Beckett, and Mr. Hess at SJO.

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Kaylee Blackburn

Kaylee Blackburn lives in St. Joseph with her family, and has six siblings: three brothers and three sisters. Her hobbies include writing poetry and short stories and hanging out with friends and family. Blackburn has many great memories from her time at St. Joseph-Ogden High School. Over the years, she enjoyed the overall atmosphere at all home football games with the Maroon Platoon. She is a big fan of Homecoming week and has really enjoyed participating in the Spartan Olympics. She really enjoyed post prom and will miss the opening show night for the spring musicals. After high school, Blackburn will attend Eastern Illinois University in Charleston to study early childhood education. Her advice for future SJO students is to "simply enjoy everything and to appreciate all of your teachers and friends." At SJO, her favorite classes over the years are American History, Advanced Civics, and Economics with Mr. Schacht; English with Mrs. Lindenmeyer; and Geometry with Mr. Duval. Blackburn, like other seniors, has several favorite teachers at the high school. Mr. Marshall Schacht, Mr. Jeff Kieffer, and Mrs. Heather Lindenmeyer as well as Mr. Steele from St. Joseph Middle School top her list.

Clubs & Activities Cheer (4 years) Drama Club (4 years) SADA, Student Council We The People

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Joe Yeager

Joe Yeager's greatest memory at St. Joseph-Ogden High School was when he missed two of his toughest classes his sophomore year because of a gas leak. The whole school had to evacuate the building and he will never forget this moment. His favorite classes at SJO included art with Mr. Jake Beccue his sophomore year and construction with Mr. Bill Billman this year. Over the years, Yeager's favorite teachers have been Mrs. Maxwell at Prairieview-Ogden in 5th/6th grade and Mr. Don Beckett at SJO. His dream job is owning his own shop where he can do custom automotive work or work on performance race cars. After graduation from SJO he willl start working toward that goal by attending Parkland College studying in one of their automotive programs. One Yeager's many hobbies is tearing down and rebuilding car engines. He is a member of one of two teams that trains at Parkland College and competes in Hot Rodders for Tomorrow competitions held around the country. In February, his team qualified for the national competition at the Race and Performance Expo in Schaumburg. Clubs & Activities Art Club FFA Teams are made up of high school students who practice teamwork, critical thinking and initiative as well as team communication as they tear down and reassemble Chevy 350 engines without the use of power tools. Hot Rodders for Tomorrow's mission is to teach high school and junior high students around the country about mechanical engineering and to encourage teamwork. The organization also offers scholarships to college students and has awarded more than $15 million since 2008 to future technicians. Not only are the competitions a great learning experience, but participants also have the opportunity rub meet with possible future employers as well as with industry experts to learn the latest technological advances. To future SJO students, Yeager offers this advice: "Finish all homework and to get involved." He lives in Royal with his mother, father and sister, Mariel.

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Photos and text provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School

Spartan Spotlight: Senior Joey Acton plans to work his way up the corporate ladder

Under normal circumstances, Joey Acton and the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team would have traveled to Mahomet to face the Bulldogs in a non-conference varsity baseball game yesterday. Acton would have probably came in to close out the game for the pitching W and the rest of the team would have returned home with a 8-5 win under their belts.

I say probably because the spring sport season is still on hold while the country prepares for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Time is running out for Acton to throw strikes, pick off batters and pad his personal pitching record with wins in what would be his final year of varsity baseball at SJO.

If you ask, the senior would probably tell you he thinks the mixture of spring and baseball is as good as it gets. Almost no one can argue with that point of view after almost five months of basketball and dreary central Illinois winter weather. But, with the state under a shelter-in-place order and the Illinois High School Association's hold on spring sports, all he can do is wait.

While Acton said his greatest memories at SJO have been on a baseball diamond, he was also three-year veteran golfer and die one tour on gridiron playing football for the Spartans.

Despite not yet taking the field this season, he said he has really enjoyed all of the great moments with his team during all four years of high school baseball.

Fortunately, he did compete in one other varsity sport his senior year. Months before the Coronavirus made the jump from what scientists believe to be a bat species to humans, Acton represented St. Joseph-Ogden playing golf.

Joey's advice to SJO students

"Always stay ahead on homework and stay focused"

Finishing with an 89 at the Oakwood regional tournament, he advanced to the El Paso-Gridley sectional with a shot at advancing to state in the balance. Unfortunately, he did not make the final cut shooting 48 on the front nine and 59 on the back for a final tally of 107 stokes.

With graduation just a few short weeks away, Acton, who has made the Honor Roll all three quarters this year, plans to attend Illinois State University to major in business.

"In ten years I hope to be working my way up the ranks of a corporate sales team for some big business somewhere," said Acton, who lives in St. Joseph with his mom, dad, and younger sister, Alyssa. "I see myself having a wife and a stable job with a beautiful house to come home to."

To be successful in the business world, most people need mentors. When asked to name three people he would like to share a meal and what he want to learn from them, Acton replied with a sports superstar and two of the world's most successful names in business innovation.

"If I could have a meal with three different people, I would choose Kobe Bryant, Elon Musk and Bill Gates," he said. "I would choose Kobe to learn his work ethic. I would choose Elon Musk and Bill Gates to gain knowledge of the business world and what it has to offer."

Given the changes that will happen once America's current battle with the Covid-19 virus is brought under control, there will be a great deal of changes and innovations needed to keep the economy strong. In addition to the virus effect on the business sphere, Action acknowledges other changes to life as we know it.

"I believe this virus will change life in America for the better," he said. "It will teach us to not be selfish, whether it be going out when you aren’t supposed to or not taking every roll of toilet paper at the store so grandpa and grandma can have some."

With the focus on hygiene as a method to avoid a coronavirus infection, Acton thinks that the changes we'll see is a good thing.

"I also believe it will clean up America. Everyone will continue to wash their hands frequently and clean off surfaces that may be touched by many people often. This continued use of cleaning techniques will keep America illness free and healthier as a whole."

While at SJO, Acton was also a member of the Maroon Platoon and Spanish Club.

"I can piece together some Spanish when I really think about it - thanks to Señor Sutton!" he said. "If I could speak languages fluently I would chose Mandarin and Spanish so I could use them to my advantage in the business world."

His favorite class at SJO was trig with math teacher Kiel Duval during his junior year and includes his Spanish teacher Zak Sutton as one of his favorite teachers in high school.

During 3rd grade and 6th grade at St. Joseph Grade School and St. Joseph Middle School, Mrs. Mabry was his favorite teacher before high school.

Acton's hobbies include playing Wiffle ball, video games, and enjoying spending time outdoors.