Beets soars to BHS outstanding senior honor

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

When Burlington High School senior Eric Beets was a young child, he often found himself looking to the sky.

“I told my parents, ‘I want to fly one of those planes up there,” Beets said.

And as Beets grew, that dream – which he figures his parents thought he’d grow out of – turned into reality, first with ride in an airplane, then gaining his pilot’s license, and finally offering flights to others.

Now a pilot – and also the valedictorian of the BHS Class of 2015 – Beets has earned another honor: that of Burlington Standard Press Outstanding Senior.

Beets won the award in a field of talented nominees, including Brad Burling, Ellen Stang and Emily Winkler. All four were nominated by staff and BHS and the final selection was determined by the editorial staff of the Standard Press.

Seeing life from the sky above is something Beets holds special.

“It’s the greatest feeling in the world to look at the world from a different perspective,” he said, “(to) do something that most people aren’t.”

But Beets said aviation has also helped him realize that he’ll never stop learning.

“There’s always opportunities to learn more and do more with aviation,” he said.

Outside of the plane, Beets posted a grade point average of 4.31 in four years at BHS. He had a total of 56 grades of “A-plus” while taking everything from required courses to AP statistics, calculus, world history and psychology.

He excelled outside of the classroom as well, organizing a pair of Young Eagles rallies – which gave him his first exposure to flying in a free airplane ride – as a member of the BHS student leadership program DRIVEN, and participating as a member of the National Honor Society.

Beets also spent four years in forensics, one as a captain, worked on the yearbook as a freshman and a senior, participated in golf and cross country for three years and cross-country skiing as a junior and senior.

He currently works at Dairy Queen in Burlington and used to work at Best Buy.

With plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison to major in computer science, Beets said he feels he’s done what he was supposed to in searching for success.

“I’ve accomplished a lot of things in my past, and I’ve seen what I’ve been able to do,” he said. “Looking to the future … I have the confidence and the skill set to overcome whatever life presents.”

Here are profiles of the other three nominees for the award.

Brad Burling

The son of Eric and Ellen Burling, he posted GPA of 3.70 and was ranked 51 out of 259 students.

Burling was also a four-year sports participant in football, basketball and track, earning three letters in football and helping guide the Demons (as captain and quarterback) to a tie for the Southern Lakes Conference title this past fall. He was named the conference’s player of the year.

Burling is also a member of the DRIVEN leadership program at BHS, the National Honor Society, took part in the Southern Lakes Conference Academic Bowl and was selected to participate in the Badger Boys State program.

His volunteer activities include time spent at youth summer basketball and football camps and as a referee for Special Olympics.

Ellen Stang

Stang, the daughter of Curtis and Cheryl Stang, finished ranked eighth in her graduating class with a GPA above 4.0.

Stang participated in golf, basketball, track and soccer while at Burlington High School, including as captain for the golf team as a junior and basketball team as a senior.

She is also a member of the DRIVEN program and the National Honor Society.

Her volunteer and work time has been spent as a babysitter and church member working with Love Inc., the Transitional Living Center and Life Teen. She also interned with Wendy Lynch as a stylist and model.

Emily Winker

Winker, the daughter of Roger and Kelly Winker, is ranked 59 out of 269 with a grade point average of 3.61.

Winker was a part of the BHS dance team and basketball team – serving as captain in both – and also participated in track. She was in all three activities for four years.

Like her fellow nominees, Winker is a member of DRIVEN and the National Honor Society. She also spent nine years as a tap dancer, both as a student and a teacher.

She has worked at Michael’s On the Lake, Alpine Valley Music Theater and the Wanda Frogg Villa Group Home.