Family strong influence on Mueller
Growing up on a farm south of Iola, Bryan Mueller learned to pay attention to details and to follow on tasks he was given. Those are life lessons that will serve him well in accounting, the career path he has chosen to pursue at Kansas State University this fall.
Mueller has a good starting point academically. He earned a 4.0 grade point average during four years at Iola High School.
“Accounting is my first choice, but I plan to explore some other things the first couple years at K-State,” he said.
An external force that guided him toward accounting is his aunt, Lisa Fontaine, who follows the profession at Monarch Cement Co., Humboldt.
He also has a role model to give guidance at K-State. His brother, Drew, “laid the groundwork for me,” Mueller said. Drew is a K-State graduate now studying for a career in healthcare at the University of St. Mary, Leavenworth.
Yet another academic influence has been his mother, Carla Mueller, an instructor in the Title I program at Jefferson Elementary School.
In addition to his sterling grade point average, Mueller scored a composite score of 25 on his ACT and was a couple of notches higher in math at 27, a good predictor for his accounting ambitions.
For all his success — including in sports — young Mueller allows that he is quiet and reserved.
“I was very shy in grade school, hardly ever spoke,” he said. “Middle school was fun, but it went by so fast.”
Fond memories of the last four years often involve sports, including a trip to the state basketball tournament.
And then there is tennis. He teamed with Colby Works, a sophomore, to put together a 21-3 record this year during the regular season. He ran cross country and distance races in track before switching to tennis as a junior.
Academic activities include Future Farmers of America and National Honor Society. He also is active in the Grace Lutheran Church Youth Group, serving — what else? — as its treasurer.
Mueller is the son of Tom and Carla Mueller.
Teacher impacts McIntosh’s path
Tyler McIntosh is starting off on the right track toward college after being named a valedictorian for the class of 2014.
“It shows how much work I put in during high school,” McIntosh, 18, said. “It’s a pretty big honor to be named the top of your class.”
The 4.0 GPA student is moving on to Emporia State next year, where he will major in biochemistry. That’s fitting since McIntosh’s favorite classes in high school where chemistry and physics. McIntosh said he enjoyed chemistry due to his teacher.
“Mr. Daugharthy was great,” McIntosh said. “I think that he affected my passion for chemistry.”
McIntosh said he specifically chose biochemistry as his major because it would allow him to become a pharmacist.
“I’ve been working at the pharmacy and so I’ve enjoyed it,” McIntosh said. “I want to go into medicine and health care. I delivered medicine at the pharmacy and I worked there last summer. I’m working there again this summer. I’ve enjoyed it.”
McIntosh chose Emporia State because one of his brothers, Brian, went to the school there. He also has another older brother, Steve, and an older sister, Katarina. Judy, his mother, is a counselor at Lincoln and McKinley elementary schools. Gene, his father, is the pastor at Calvary Methodist Church.
As far as high school goes, McIntosh is happy that it’s over, since he will now begin the next phase of this life. Although, he does admit that college will be a little intimidating.
“I’m happy and relieved (that high school is over),” McIntosh said. “It’s kind of scary though, going onto college. Just having to make more decisions for yourself, kind of growing up it seems.”
While at high school McIntosh was a member of the National Honor Society. He also participated on many of Iola’s sports teams.
“I think I’ll miss the sports because I was always involved,” McIntosh said. “I played football, basketball and ran track. It will be weird not having an activity to always be apart of.”
In his spare time, McIntosh likes to hang out with his friends and cheer on the New York Yankees.
Kauth races forward to Bethel
Since he was a freshman in high school Adam Kauth had it in his sights to become a valedictorian.
“It doesn’t come around easily,” said Kauth, 18, who was named one of four at Iola High School. “I worked toward that goal and finally achieved it.”
Kauth is planning to attend Bethel College next fall, where he will double-major in computer science and business administration. Although he knows the degrees he wants, Kauth doesn’t know what he wants to do with them yet. He does have four more years before he has to worry about that.
“With computer science and business administration, they’re so broad,” Kauth said. “I haven’t decided on what I want to branch off into quite yet. I was kind of hoping to decide once I get into it a little more and see where I’m at.”
Kauth chose Bethel because it not only offers the degree programs he was interested in, but also they came with incentive.
“They offered me great scholarships and I’m still going to pursue football and track,” Kauth said.
On the high school football team, Kauth played wing back, which is a dual running back and wide receiver, and defensive back. He will be a wide receiver at Bethel. For high school track, he ran 110-meter high hurdles, 300-meter intermediate hurdles, 4×4 relay and high jump. At Bethel, he plans on doing the 110-meter high hurdles and 400-meter hurdles.
Kauth was involved in multiple student organizations at IHS. He was a member of I Club, was vice president for National Honor Society, an officer in FFA, a member of Crime Stoppers and most notably, the student body president of student council.
“This year I was representing the school, not just the class,” Kauth said.
In his free time, Kauth enjoys hunting and fishing. His mother Dianne is a math teacher at IHS. His father, Mark, is the owner of Century Midwest Office Systems. Kauth also has an older brother, Christian.
Medicine in Michael’s sights
When Iola High seniors were recognized in ceremonies Wednesday evening, the lion’s share of students had a pretty good idea about what awards they might receive.
Ricky Michael, who stands at the head of his class with three others with 4.0 grade point averages, was in for a surprise.
He never dreamed he hadn’t missed a day of classes all through his four years of high school, Michael said, when the award for perfect attendance was announced.
“I was shocked,” he said.
How does a student accomplish such a thing over four years?
“I don’t know, other than I’ve never been sick much,” he said, and when illness struck it always came during a vacation period.
Michael plans to study medicine at the University of Kansas, with a focus on oncology.
He had an ACT composite score of 28, with a 29 in science.
Michael is pragmatic about the future, allowing it is too early to make any judgment on where he might settle after post-secondary schooling, a journey he said likely would span 12 years.
Memorable teachers paved the pathway for Michael — Vince Coons in science, Dana Daugharthy in chemistry and Travis Hermstein in history. Looking back to his formative years at Jefferson Elementary, Michael quickly named Linda Brocker’s encouragement in first grade as important.
Naturally enough he is a member of Iola High’s National Honor Society.
“Studying, I guess,” Michael said, has been his preoccupation in high school. When pressed, he recalled a band trip to New York for several reasons other than performing.
“The bus broke down quite a few times, including once on the way at midnight when we were stuck for six hours,” he said. “Then, when it got started again it seemed to break down again every 10 minutes. It took forever to get home.”
Driving into New York was an eye-opener.
“Life is so much different there,” he said. “I never saw so many people.”
He is the son of Rick and JoAnne Michael.
