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January 2022 Student of the Month

Aaron Popp

Royalton High School is proud to announce that Aaron Popp was selected as Student of the Month for January. Aaron is the son of Lawrence and Renee. Aaron believes his hard work ethic comes from his family, “I live on a farm, so at a young age I had to develop a hard work ethic. I watched my mother (Renee) and Father (Lawrence) work hard each and every day to run our family farm, so I knew I had to work as hard as they did if I wanted to succeed in life. My mother encouraged me to get good grades and do good throughout my entire school career. I grew up with two brothers and two sisters so I developed a competitive drive, in life. They taught me to always try to be the best at everything you do. I love to watch football on Sundays in the fall with my family. I love to play sports with my brothers during the summer. I love just spending quality time with each other.”

When it comes to his classes Aaron says his favorite class was American History. “I loved learning about American history. I especially liked learning about the world wars. World War 2 was the thing I liked to learn about the most. I enjoyed learning about old military leaders, and the bravery and leadership they showed.

As for a favorite teacher in high school Aaron says there are 3 that come to mind, “My favorite teachers are Mr. Snyder, Mr. Schaa, and Mrs. Gerads. Mr. Snyder taught my favorite class American History. Mr. Schaa taught me that if you work hard on things you will get rewarded for it. Mrs. Gerads helped me figure out that I want to pursue a career in the science field after high school. They all inspired me to do my absolute best in life.”

Aaron’s favorite high school memory took place his junior year, “during my gym class in 11th grade, we were in our bike riding unit and behind the high school there is this big hill in the forest that is steep and hard to bike across unless you build up a lot of speed and momentum. So, my gym teacher went first and biked across the hill without breaking a sweat. I then watched a couple of my fellow classmates do the same, when it came to my turn, I built up a lot of speed and started to climb the hill, and then I got to the top and my chain fell off. I fell off the bike and landed on the ground. One of my friends was riding behind me and was building up speed to climb the hill, so they could not stop fast enough, and ended up running into me and flipped his bike. He went flying into the air. It was painful and funny at the same time.”

The best activity Aaron says he was involved with was this past fall during homecoming, “The best event I was involved in had to be my senior year homecoming Olympics. This stands out because it was finally the year my grade won. For years I watched other grades beat us and think that they are the best, but this year was finally our time to prove we are the best grade and we were because we won. I watched my fellow classmates compete in games like musical chairs and a food eating contest. I got to participate in the annual tug of war competition which my grade did not win, but it was still really fun to be involved and to watch all of us come together and work together.”

Next year Aaron plans on attending St. Cloud State University, where he will pursue a degree in nursing and plans to become a registered nurse and possibly a doctor. When asked what he believes his life will look like in 10 years this was Aaron’s response, “I see myself being a nurse in a hospital helping people with their medical issues. Hopefully living in a place warmer than Minnesota. I see myself watching my niece grow up and hopefully develop my intelligence.”

When it comes to advice for high school freshmen Aaron had this to say, “don’t let yourself fall behind in your classes, if you put in the effort you will get rewarded, the better grades you get in HS, the more likely you are to succeed in the future, and lastly listen to your teachers even when you don’t want to, because they are there to help you.”

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