Schools and Education
Several Students Were Honored Tuesday During Park High's Academic Achievement and Military Enlistment Awards Ceremony
Park County Dugout - May 2025
TheParkCountyDugout.substack.com
By: Jeff Schlapp
On Tuesday night, Park High School celebrated Excellence. It applauded Greatness. It saluted dedication, resolve, integrity, curiosity, responsiveness, and caring.
Eighty-four soon-to-be graduates, six Valedictorians, and four students who will join the military were honored at Park High School in Livingston before their family and friends during Park High’s 2025 Academic Achievement, Scholarship, and Military Enlistment Awards Ceremony.
Thirty-three seniors were honored for achieving academic scholarships, while an additional thirty-five were recognized for earning Work-Based Learning Certifications. Twenty-five local businesses, organizations, and trusts announced the winners of scholarships ranging from $500 to $20,000.
Three seniors, Taylor Tatro, Jaxon White, and Asher Perkins, received the Military Award for enlisting in the United States Army and the United States Navy.
There were too many awards and achievements handed out to list all of them, but some that stood out for various reasons to me were:
Logan Jergenson was given a $10,000 annual scholarship ($40,000) by the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minnesota. A terrific kid who was the most gifted and hard-working athlete I’ve known at Park High, unselfish and humble. He is a role model for anyone who is paying attention.
Molly Arterburn, Sophie Sestrich, Cameron Sestrich, and Landess O’Dea. These seniors will be attending Montana State University, Carroll College, Oregon State University, and the University of Utah, respectively. All were awarded money to attend college due to their extraordinary achievements.
Arterburn’s academic achievement earned her recognition as one of the top one percent of high school seniors nationwide to achieve the distinction of National Merit Scholarship Finalist and a Provost Scholarship at Montana State University.
Only 15 incoming freshmen last year at MSU were awarded the Provost Scholarship. It’s a really Big Deal.
To me, these five students personify what high school should be about. Hard work, preparing kids for the future, and participating in multiple school activities made each a more well-rounded student and community member. All five were members of the National Honor Society.
Morgan Sites, Arterburn, Carson Bekedam, Ripley Cunningham, Tess Goosey, and Maloi Lannan were each announced as 2025 Valedictorians.
Sites was awarded over $100,000 in scholarships to attend Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. Cunningham is attending Columbia University in New York and was awarded over $300,000 from the Columbia University Institutional Award.
Analeece Frederickson will join her cross country teammate, O’Dea, at the University of Utah, where she received the Western Undergraduate Exchange Scholarship worth $56,000.
Alice Addicott is heading to Baltimore, Maryland, where she will attend Goucher College on the Dr. Rhonda Dorsey Leadership Scholarship worth $221,200.
We close with a shout-out to Augie Stern, who received $16,000 in scholarship money from Northern Illinois University. We are fond of Augie here at the Dugout, and now, as a NIU Huskie, he can brag that his school is on a one-game win streak against Notre Dame (football).
He can also say that he’s the only Park High graduate who attended the alma mater of retiring Park High athletic director Scott Rosberg! One girl summed up the night for me. She was one of the early award winners, and she was given an award certificate. I don’t recall if she was awarded scholarship money. She took it, sat down, and looked at it. Her classmate next to her did the same, both staring meaningfully as if reflecting on the work she had put into achieving the award.
Reflecting on four years at Park High. All the essays, papers, projects, quizzes, and tests. The late-night studying and preparation. Along the way—friendships. She rubbed the edges of her award, seemingly proud of herself. Her friend was proud of her, and it was evident in her movements.
For me, that’s what the night was: time to reflect, a time to celebrate, and a time to be proud.
Congratulations to all those honored. Touch em all.
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