Koenig and Eastman named Prairie du Chien Valedictorian and Salutatorian

By Melissa R. Collum

Rhett Koenig, son of Cory and Heather Koenig, has been named Prairie du Chien High School valedictorian.
Koenig participated in wrestling, football, Student Council, National Honor Society, and Leaders in Action, while at Prairie High. “The most important thing that I learned from the activities I participated in is the value of hard work,” notes Koenig. “If you work hard, great things will happen! I also learned how to balance school, extracurriculars, and time outside of school.”
This is demonstrated by Koenig’s best memory from high school which was winning his fourth State Title.
The most important class Koenig took in high school was AP Macroeconomics “because it challenged me. I feel that it is very important to know how the economy works, especially in today’s world.”
Koenig’s advice to income first year students is “Don’t sell yourself short. I feel that it’s important to set as high of goals as possible. If you push yourself, these goals will set you up for success in the future.”
His advice for incoming seniors is to focus on what the high school years has to offer. “Take advantage of every opportunity possible. Go achieve and do anything else you want because your last year will fly by and you want to be proud of everything you’ve done.”
Koenig will be attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for Engineering and will be wrestling for UM.
“I would like to thank my family for all of the opportunities and support that they have gifted me throughout my high school career, both academically and athletically. I would like to thank all of the great teachers I’ve had from BAK, BV, and HS in helping mold me into who I am today,” states Koenig. “I would also like to thank the community for their never ending support in my endeavors. These factors have made everything I wanted to achieve possible!”
Josephine “Josie” Eastman, daughter of Derrick and Sarah Eastman, has been named the Salutatorian for Prairie du Chien high school.
Eastman participated in numerous extracurricular activities while in hig school including GSA, Student Council, Sources of Strength, Math Club, Book Club, NHS, Forensics, Key Club, Mock Trial, Asia Society, Football Cheerleading, and Student Leadership Team.
The best thing Eastman states that she learned from extracurriculars is “Collaboration is important. It is important to be able to communicate with others who are a different age or in a different group than you. Extracurriculars helped me collaborate with people I never would have talked to and now I have those connections for life.”
“My best high school memory was cheerleading my senior year,” notes Eastman.  “We had such a close knit team and really relied on each other. At the last home game of the year, we finally were allowed to try our basket toss and we nailed it. Plus, we made it almost all the way to state for football. Cheerleading was the most fun I’ve had throughout high school.”
The class that Eastman took on Holocaust Studies she feels was the most important course from her high school career. “I have learned so much and I feel like everyone should learn a little more about historical events like the Holocaust,” comments Eastman. “During this class, I was able to see a Holocaust survivor speak in person. I learned so much more about other cultures, beliefs, and just became more versed in acceptance.”
Eastman’s advice to first year students is to “Use the weekly emails from Mrs. Godfrey. She will send out an email every week with times of every sports game, music, or drama event, and anything else going on at the school. Don’t just delete the email, see which ones you can make it to and actually go. You will be surprised how many people will talk to you and how much fun you will have.”
As far as her advice to incoming seniors, Eastman states the following “Be peppy! This is it. You don’t get another homecoming, pep rally, prom, football game, or band concert with these people ever again. The people you have known for four plus years will be going different ways. So be peppy and get into the fun. Go all out for dress up weeks, sports events, and any other opportunity to yell as loud as you can.”
Eastman will be starting as an EMT at Gundersen Ambulance while taking general education courses at Southwest Tech. In the Spring, Easmant will be attending Lakeshore Technical College for an associates degree as a Paramedic. She hopes to get a job near Prairie
“I want to thank my siblings. They made my life more interesting and gave me something to work toward,” states Eastman. “I also want to thank a couple specific teachers who have made a huge impact on my life, whether they know it or not: Ms. White, Mr. Rabbitt, Mr. Stout, Mr. Gordon, and Mr. Antoniewicz. Finally, a huge shout out to the two people who have been there for absolutely everything: Morgan Chase and Eowyn Earle.”