Outstanding Achievement Award Winners
Four seniors recently received Lake Park High School’s highest honor -- the District Award for Outstanding Achievement. Bryan Lamb, Robert Lenisa, Kaitlyn Linsner, and Jacek Muka are the Class of 2007 recipients for their accomplishments of scholarship, activities, athletics, and public service. Winners of this prestigious award are nominated by teachers, coaches and administrators. They were presented with medallions at the Scholarship and Awards Night May 24 and their pictures will be included in the Academic Wall of Fame located at both East and West Campuses.
Bryan Lamb –
On the first day of baseball practice last spring, Bryan was attempting to catch a baseball when a freak accident occurred. The ball took a strange bounce, hit the field and then hit him in the face. The ball hit with such force that it knocked him out. When he went to the hospital, Bryan was told that he had a concussion and everyone thought he would be back to normal in a week or so. Unfortunately for Bryan, that did not happen.
Bryan was more worried about his team and his classes then he was about himself, and hated not being able to play. For about six months, Bryan experienced headaches, dizziness, and sensitivity to light and noise. He could only concentrate for short periods and needed extra time to complete his assignments and tests. Bryan’s expectation of himself was that he would remain in all of his honors classes, and complete all the work that everyone else was expected to do. Anyone looking at his transcript would never believe that Bryan had suffered from a post concussion injury. Bryan has taken mostly honors and AP classes making nothing lower than an A.
Not only is Bryan an outstanding student, he is also an exceptional athlete. He played baseball and soccer at Lake Park High School. Bryan made the Lake Park varsity soccer team his sophomore year and his coach recognized his leadership abilities early on. Bryan was named Captain, MVP, and was an All Conference Soccer player this year. For 2003-2004 season, he received the MVP Award as well as the Captain’s Award. Bryan has also been a very active member of National Honor Society and always one of the first to sign up for community service activities. Over the course of a year and a half, Bryan accumulated over forty hours of community service. Some additional achievements include the following: LPHS highest academic letter; highest honor roll seven semesters; one of sixteen students who scored in the top 5% of the American Mathematics Competitions; one of twelve students who qualified to advance to American Invitational Mathematics Exam; Pride and Performance Athletic of the Year; IHSA outstanding academic achievement; Academic All-Conference for Soccer; Humanitarian Award.
In the fall, Bryan will be attending Notre Dame to begin his journey to becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
Robert Lenisa –
For the past two years, Bob starts his day at 6:30 with early bird gym and finishes his day sometimes at 10:30, depending on whether he has practice, rehearsal or a performance. In addition to taking mostly honors and AP classes, Bob is a member of our marching band as well as our concert and jazz swing choirs, and spends many hours a week practicing or performing. His innate ability as well as his easy -going nature allows him to excel in all areas. He greets everyone with a smile and never really seems frazzled.
Music is Bob’s passion and he seems to have a natural gift for it. In the seventh grade, he learned to the tenor sax and then two years ago he bought an alto sax and more or less taught himself to play it. Within a year, he was in the top ensemble-playing sax. This is an amazing accomplishment especially with the caliber of Lake Park’s band. Outside of school, Bob plays hand bells at his church, and plays for fun in a garage band. He loves to perform in front of others more than anything else and more importantly, it is a way for him to escape the pressure of his academics. Each summer Bob travels with the Allegro hand bell choir performing at churches in different parts of the country. For him, this is an amazing opportunity to meet new people and do what he loves best, perform.
At Lake Park, Bob has been a member of the math team, the marching band, and the drama club since ninth grade. He is a member of the Thespian Honor Society and has both performed and played in the pit orchestra. In marching band, Bob is a section leader for the sax section and the winds captain, which means that when no adults are around, he is responsible for the behavior and productivity of this 90+ wind section. Students are chosen for this position because of their leadership skills and their maturity. Even with his grueling schedule, Bob has been on the highest honor roll all through high school, making all A’s and B’s.
This fall, Bob will attend Marquette University where he will major in electrical engineering.
Kaitlyn Linsner -
Kaitlyn is someone who has never met a stranger. Her energy, friendliness and compassion are gifts that allow her to engage people in conversations, as though she has known them forever. These talents will help her pursue a career in journalism.
Academics have always been important to Kaitlyn and she has pushed herself to take challenging courses. Throughout high school she has taken mostly honors and AP classes, making all A’s and B’s, never looking for an easier class. She learned at an early age not to quit when things tough; you just have to keep plugging along.
Kaitlyn has played both soccer and basketball in high school, and has given 100% effort to both teams, but when asked, her passion is basketball. Kaitlyn made varsity as a junior and has devoted many hours to practice over her four years at Lake Park, learning to juggle her practices with schoolwork and other activities. One of her basketball coaches commented that she was one of the most consistent players on the team and was always looking to improve her game. Another coach stated that she is a natural leader and a great role model, and that her “enthusiastic personality spreads amongst the others”.
In addition to being a peer mediator, Kaitlyn was one of eight senior girls chosen to participate in a leadership class run by the PE department. Each fall, the PE teachers select thirty-two students to participate in the class, basing their decisions on teacher recommendations and leadership qualities.
Outside of school, Kaitlyn Irish danced from the age of six until her junior year. In the summer of 2005, her Irish dance company, Trinity Irish Dance Academy was invited to perform in a world dance festival in Belgium. In order to prepare for the competition, Kaitlyn practiced three to four days a week and working around her basketball practice and her schoolwork.
Kaityn wants to be a journalist, newscaster, and eventually work in radio and television. Next year, Kaitlyn will attend LaSalle University in Philadelphia where she will study communications
Jacek Muka -
Jacek is an extraordinary young man who strives for excellence and proficiency in all areas. He is very well-rounded and has participated in honors and AP classes at Lake Park High School. Academically, Jacek has done extremely well, especially in math.
Jacek is also an athlete. He has been on Lake Park’s gymnastics team for three years; two of them on varsity as a performer on rings, pommel horse and parallel bars. He earned the conference sportsmanship award two years in a row. Jacek had never done gymnastics before trying out for the Lake Park team as a sophomore and proceeded to compete on the two toughest events and earn two varsity letters. He is an extremely hard worker and was elected team captain this season.
Jacek’s love of gymnastics is exemplified in his volunteer work. He is a state certified Special Olympics volunteer, coaching youth with developmental disabilities. Jacek’s other interests include playing the french horn for the Lake Park High School band and the Schaumburg Youth Symphony. He also plays guitar for his church. Jacek is in the Civil Air Patrol and is a state-certified first responder Emergency Medical Technician. Jacek has accepted an appointment to the US Air Force Academy, which is something he has had his heart set on since he was a child. His goal is to be a pilot and a brain surgeon.