Charter seniors named National Merit Finalists
Three more Coeur d’Alene students have been selected as National Merit Finalists – a recognition that only about 15,000 students nationwide receive each year.
Those 15,000 students are selected from a pool of 1.3 million who take the PSAT, the qualifying test, according to the nonprofit National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Anna Bierne, Nathan Empsall and Oliver Lemke are seniors at the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy.
Bierne, also the school’s valedictorian, is a member of the school’s jazz ensemble and tutors for the National Honor Society. She plans to attend Arizona State University, where she will major in museum studies.
“I’ve always liked art, but I can’t draw,” Bierne said, “so I want to work at a museum.”
Bierne couldn’t spend much time talking Tuesday – she didn’t want to miss any of the day’s lesson in calculus. But Empsall and Lemke, her classmates and friends, said she’s the go-to girl at the Charter Academy and has the highest grades in the senior class.
Whenever there’s a project to be done or some help to be given, they said Bierne is an eager volunteer.
“She needs to learn how to say no,” Empsall said. “She’s super.”
Empsall plans to attend Dartmouth, William and Mary or Gonzaga University, and major in political science, history or journalism. Ultimately, Empsall said he wants to be an Episcopal priest and a politician or lawyer.
He was active in the Howard Dean campaign, has written for The Spokesman-Review, has served in student government and works at Wendy’s. He has a love for music and writing and is dual-enrolled at North Idaho College.
Empsall also has been active in the school’s debate team and has twice competed at nationals.
Lemke also enjoys writing and hopes to become a published author. He has been accepted to Lewis and Clark College in Portland and to St. John’s in Maryland, but Lemke said he may take a year off after high school to earn money.
He’s also considering enrollment in a pharmacy technician program and the possibility of sticking closer to home to attend Gonzaga.
Lemke participated in Quiz Bowl, is in choir and is secretary for the senior class. In his spare time, he writes and records music in his basement at home.
Safe and Sober poster wins award
A Coeur d’Alene High student’s design has won first place in a state contest to promote alcohol- and drug-free graduation celebrations.
Laura James’ poster design includes a Viking blue graduation cap and the message “Celebrate Safe & Sober.” The poster urges students “Buckle up and don’t drink.”
The design will appear on T-shirts and posters promoting Celebration Graduation 2005.
James wins a T-shirt, poster and $200 for her entry.
Third place and $100 was awarded to Chad Carson, also of Coeur d’Alene High. Patricia Frantz of Post Falls High and Brianne Langlitz of Coeur d’Alene High received honorable mentions and $50.
The contest is sponsored by the Idaho Transportation Department’s Office of Highway Safety, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Idaho Department of Juvenile Correction’s Combating Underage Drinking Program and the Department of Education’s Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program.
Project gains national attention
Alyssa Kimm’s horse has hip problems. Cecelia Kowalski’s horse has foundered feet, a painful condition that can cause great discomfort for horses and can sometimes be deadly.
To fix what ails their horses, the good friends and classmates at the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy invented Equi-Gel Horseshoes. Crafted from aluminum, which causes less vibration than steel, the horseshoe includes a gel pack for the horses’ feet to reduce stress on joints.
The seventh-graders’ project nabbed an honorable mention in the National 2005 Exploravision contest, sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association and the Toshiba Corporation.
For wintertime, they also created some of their special horseshoes equipped with “snow tires,” or special rivets to add traction.