AMBOY — Meet four Amboy High School students who have been selected students of the month in the first half of the 2023-2024 school year.

September 2023

Landon Whelchel is a senior and the son of Laurie Whelchel and Chad Whelchel. He has five siblings: Logan, Brooklyn, Alyvia, Jadyn and Sydney.

What class do you find really engaging and why?: I find STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) with Mr. Browne very engaging. I get to build whatever I want, with whatever resources I want. Currently, I am working on solar-powered projects but I will also venture into robotics.

What are your career and post-graduation plans? What school(s) or other instruction, travel or endeavors do you have planned?: I plan to go to a four-year university to study Mechanical Engineering. I also plan to travel while I’m still young.

What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in?: I love to play sports. My main sports are football, baseball and basketball. I also like to referee Little League baseball and basketball games.

Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable.: When our football team almost won state.

What is your hope for the future?: I hope to make a successful future for myself and my family.

October 2023

Austin Shugars is a senior and is the son of Angela Shugars and Jeremy Shugars. He has a sibling, Caleb.

What class do you find really engaging and why?: I find my Calculus class to be one of the most engaging I currently have. We have a pretty small class, so everyone knows each other and we all work well together. A lot of the work we do are things we can all collaborate on to contribute to our understanding of the material we’ve gone over so far. Our teacher, Mrs. Carlson, is great too and always is there for us when we need her and provides great advice outside of just math. She really cares about each and every one of her students and shows it in the way she conducts class. Everything flows really well in its own way of organized chaos.

What are your career and post-graduation plans? What school(s) or other instruction, travel or endeavors do you have planned?: I’m not exactly sure what I want to do in the future yet. I’ve researched a few things that I want to study but haven’t been able to settle on just one. I know I want to attend a four-year school at some point. I’ve looked into Augustana College in Rock Island and Western Illinois in Macomb to possibly study history or criminal justice.

What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in?: My two favorites are baseball and the National Honor Society. I’ve played baseball for almost my whole life so it means a lot to me. It’s my favorite sport and I give my all to it each season to improve my skills. We have a good team of guys too, which makes it all the more fun to be a part of. The National Honor Society is also something I’ve been working hard towards for all four years of high school. When I was inducted in my junior year, it felt like all the hard work I had done leading up to it finally paid off.

Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable.: Attending our state football game was a pretty memorable experience. Even though it was freezing, it was great to go out there and support the guys on the football team. It was even more special because they were doing something that hadn’t been done for years at our school.

What is your hope for the future?: I hope people will be more willing to talk to each other to settle differences. It seems like now, everybody sort of resorts to yelling and finger pointing, which really gets nothing done. I feel that in order to really make a change or find a solution, people need to discuss their viewpoints and be willing to understand those of others.

November 2023

Lexi Ketchum, a senior, is the daughter of Tanya Ketchum and Danny Ketchum and has three siblings, Olivia, Logan and Liam.

What class do you find really engaging and why?: I really enjoyed being in Mr. Tidmore’s Conspiracy Theories class. Learning about new perspectives on mainstream topics as well as lesser-known ones always kept me engaged. The discussion-based environment allowed everyone to get involved and create a great class experience.

What are your career and post-graduation plans? What school(s) or other instruction, travel or endeavors do you have planned?: After graduation, I plan to attend a four-year university to pursue a degree in interior design. During college, I hope to obtain an internship or understudy position in this field.

What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in?: My two favorite extracurricular activities are volleyball and track. I love being part of a team and getting to cheer others on. Through these, I have learned about teamwork and leadership qualities as well as gained knowledge and friendships.

Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable.: The pink night game we host for volleyball is always a meaningful event. People from our community as well as those from the visiting team, AFC, come together to make this night happen. Businesses, organizations and families donate baskets to be sold as well as there being a 50/50. It’s always exciting to see how much we are able to do for CGH Women’s Health.

What is your hope for the future?: My hope for the future is to be successful in my career and continue to help out my community.

December 2023

Kimber Zitelman is a senior and the daughter of Kelly Zitelman and Mikael Zitelman. Her siblings are Aislinn, Kinsey, Ethan and Mikey.

What class do you find really engaging and why?: I find my calculus class engaging because our teacher always finds new ways to keep us interested in what we are learning.

What are your career and post-graduation plans? What school(s) or other instruction, travel or endeavors do you have planned?: After graduation, I want to go to college for criminal justice and psychology to become a police officer.

What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in?: My two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities that I participate in are track and volunteering at Teen Turf.

Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable.: This year our football team went to state, this being my senior year meant that this would be my last football game. And I can proudly say that I will always remember the love I was shown by my fellow cheerleaders when the final buzzer went off.

What is your hope for the future?: My hope for the future is that I will help many different people in my career and I can say that I made a difference in people’s lives.