The Oelwein Homecoming Court members were introduced during a ceremony Friday in the high school gym.
Dani Gerstenberger is the daughter of John Gerstenberger and Angy Fox. She plans to attend University of Northern Iowa for psychology.
Gerstenberger will remember “bonding with Mrs. Corkery and Mrs. Kuennen over my problems.”
She is active in student council, “annual,” choir, tennis, silver cord volunteering, student mentoring, and National Honor Society.
To underclassmen, she advises to try new things and do what makes them happy.
Carter Reising listed "Bert" and "Cole" as his parents. He is undecided on a degree.
He will remember when he fractured a bone in his shoulder while making a video for English and “locking Ian and Brody out of the bedroom and forcing them to sleep ... on (a) couch on the Florida band trip.”
Reising stays active in basketball, track and band. He advises underclassmen to be outgoing and make more friends to make high school more fun.
Laura McLane is the daughter of Dennis and Becky McLane. She currently wants to further her studies in the fields of music or medicine.
McLane stays active in concert, Belle Voce and mixed choirs.
She will remember singing “Unwritten” with Lauren, Natalie and Brooke on the Belle Voce bus.
To underclassmen, she advises, be yourself, wear what you want and treat others with kindness.
Christian Stoler is the son of Bill and Kelli Stoler. He currently would like to study further in the field of education.
He will remember winning the South Tama playoff game. He is involved in football, wrestling, track, baseball and Business Professionals of America.
He advises underclassmen to not be afraid to fail and to keep trying.
Malayna Kiel is the daughter of Trishia and Ryan Dietzenbach, Sara and Randy Kiel. She will further her studies in sports marketing at the University of Dubuque while taking part in basketball and track.
She will remember winning the conference title junior year for track at their final Northeast Iowa Conference meet — before switching to the North Iowa Cedar League this year — and “running up the bleachers to celebrate with coaches (Gary) Goeller and (assistant Emily) Wood and jamming out to Taylor Swift with Libby before basketball and track.”
She is active in basketball, track, choir, Distributive Education Clubs of America, musicals, show choir, National Honor Society, FFA, Business Professionals of America and Husky Video Productions.
To underclassmen, she advises: “Surround yourself with good, hardworking people. The people who you hang out with will say a lot about you and your character.”
Brody Rogers is the son of Matt Rogers and Tammy Kollman and plans to attend Wartburg College for musical performance.
He is active in cross country, band, choir, musicals, track and honor society.
He will remember the time “when Josh shattered the candlestick at our performance of ‘The Little Mermaid.’”
Underclassmen, he says, should get involved and not be afraid to try new things, whether a sport, club or musical because they will make “some of the best memories during those times.”
Natalie Albrecht (“Albright”) is the daughter of Jason Albrecht and Amanda Hauptly. She plans to attend Kirkwood Community College and transfer to University of Iowa for dental hygiene.
She is active in cheer, “annual,” Belle Voce, concert choir, mixed choir, tennis and church volunteering.
She will remember the cheer lock-in at the school; also “Falynn and I showing up to semester tests late freshman year and her crying because she didn’t get let in.”
She advises underclassmen, “join Annual because there’s no people” and to make new friends and expand their interests.
Colton Roete is the son of Roger Roete and Tina Ledesma. He plans on studying for a degree to become a windmill technician. He will remember bus rides home from sporting events and “reenacting what it was like on the Oregon Trail.”
He is active in football, wrestling and tennis and advises underclassmen not to take high school for granted because “it goes by fast when you make it fun.”
Lauren Hamilton is the daughter of Lisa Hamilton and intends to further her studies to become an educator.
She is active in varsity cheer (as captain), wrestling, tennis, choir, FFA and Northeast Iowa Dance Academy.
She will remember state FFA her freshman year.
Underclassmen, she says, should learn to manage their time, “always be kind, you never know what someone else is going through,” and to get involved.
Caden Penhollow is the son of Mitch Penhollow and Jana Kane and plans to finish his general education credits and decide on a field from there.
He has been active in bowling and baseball, and wants to try tennis or golf this spring.
He will remember “ending up in a wheelchair with braces on both my legs, unable to talk for eight weeks after almost breaking both my femurs at the beginning of baseball my junior year due to growing too fast.”
To underclassmen, he says, take as many college classes as you can, go out for all the sports, get involved, have fun and make memories.
Payton Arndt is the daughter of Dick and Kim Arndt. Her future plans are to “beat Joey Cheshnut in a hotdog eating contest.”
Arndt stays active in volleyball, basketball, Business Professionals of America, silver cord volunteering, National Honor Society, food truck, Sacred Heart religion teaching, the Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Campaign, yearbook and student mentoring.
She will remember “telling all my secrets to Mrs. Kuennen and Mrs. Corkery” and “single-handedly raising Iszy, Jas, Alexa and Maria.”
She advises underclassmen to be appreciative of everything, especially their parents, “they have always been my no. 1 supporters.” “Always choose the fun way out — YOLO (you only live once).”
Ian Paul is the son of Jesse and Carol Paul and intends to “finish getting my private pilot license and study mechanical engineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas.”
He will remember “not recording Carter breaking his collar bone” and visiting Disney World for band and getting locked out of the hotel room.
He is active in cross country, track, trap shooting, band, choir, fall musical and honor society.
“Be spontaneous,” he advises underclassmen. “Never be afraid to go somewhere random for no reason at all. Learn new things. Do something you’ve never done. You’ll be surprised by just how much fun you’ll have.”
Kaylie Stewart is the daughter of Troy and Jessica Stewart and plans to pursue a career in the medical field.
She will remember “freshman year at State Convention for FFA when we all slept in the same bed because the refrigerator looked like a monster” and “making vlogs (video logs) with all my friends.”
She is active in basketball, tennis, silver cord volunteering, student council, American Legion Auxiliary Girls State and “annual.”
“Listen to your parents,” she advises underclassmen. “Take Spanish with Senora, join a new activity, hang out with your friends more, and don’t put off your homework until the day it’s due.”
Cole Hamilton is the son of Jeannie and Jordan Hamilton and plans to attend University of Northern Iowa to major in finance.
He will remember “coming back (from being) down 18 against Dunkerton last year in basketball” and “scoring a touchdown against the state champs (in football).”
He is involved in basketball, track, baseball, Business Professionals of America and choir.
“Be authentic,” he advises underclassmen.
