Connor Michael Johnston

Connor Michael Johnston was born on September 4, 1993 and is the son of Mike and Brenda Johnston. He has one sister, Colleen Johnston.

Connor’s awards and achievements include A Honor Roll, three-time State wrestling place winner as well as 3^rd Team  All-State for football.

His favorite activities include hanging out with friends, hunting and fishing. 

Connor’s extracurricular activities include wrestling (4), football (4), baseball (2), Speech & Drama (2) and track (1).

His best memories while attending MHS come from working on his college class with Matt and Mr. Bates at 11:59 p.m. trying to finish the class he waited until the last week to start. 

Connor’s funniest moment was watching Dayton freak out when his car was stolen during homecoming. 

His biggest inspiration is Brant Vermeer, for always taking extra time to talk to Connor about football and everything else in life. 

Connor’s gift to the underclassmen goes to Macy Taylor, “Don’t let senioritis get the best of you next year.”

His favorite quote is by Michael Jordan: “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. 

Connor’s plans for the future are to go to college for six years and become an engineer, move to a small town in Iowa, get married, have kids and get old. 

Connor is excited for graduation because he can move onto the next chapter of his life. 

Compiled by Natalie Kirton.

Katelin Ann Shepard

Katelin Ann Shepard was born on October 9, 1993 and is the daughter of Becky and Frank Gillum and Carl and Amy Shepard. She has six siblings: Hollis Anderson; Reece Shepard; Brittney, Franklin, Hailey and Chance Gillum. 

Katelin’s achievements include attaining the A Honor Roll in high school.

Her favorite hobbies are driving and hanging out with friends. 

Katelin’s extracurricular activities include FCCLA (2).

Her best memories while attending MHS come from General Math with Dayton Pringle. 

Katelin’s biggest inspirations come from Becky, Amy and Kelly, the three strongest women she knows, for always being there and understanding. 

Her gift to the underclassmen goes to Vanessa Minner and Macy Taylor, “Stay amazing!”

Katelin’s favorite quote is, “Hey, Red Head! Are you taking our order?”

Her plans for the future are to attend Kirkwood Community College for human services. 

Katelin is excited for graduation because she is ready to start a new adventure at a new place with new people. 

Compiled by Natalie Kirton.

Dayton Daniel Pringle

Dayton Daniel Pringle was born on September 2, 1994 and is the son of Nikki Talbert and Daniel Joseph Pringle and his stepfather Brent Talbert. He has three siblings, Caleb, Mya, and Reagan Talbert. 

His awards and achievements include being an Iowa Games gold medalist and winning countless racquetball tournament places. 

Dayton’s favorite activities are ping-pong, chilling with friends, and working at Taso’s Steakhouse in Oskaloosa. 

His extracurricular activities include golf (4), Speech & Drama (3) and wrestling (2).

Dayton’s  best memories while attending MHS come from Homecoming and the suburban rides to wrestling practice. 

His most embarrassing and funniest moment is a tie between his second day of Sophomore year or when three of his friends “moved” his car.

Dayton’s biggest inspiration is Brent Talbert for stepping in and being the father that he didn’t have the chance to find. 

His gift to the underclassmen is, “No matter how bad the drama is or how much your break-up hurts, it’s only high school; it’s not a big deal at all.”

Dayton’s favorite quote is by Albert Einstien: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; I’m not sure about the universe.”

His plans for the future are to attend Indian Hills Community College for a degree, but he is keeping his options open for a career.

Dayton is excited for graduation because high school is four years too long.  At the same time,  he isn’t excited for graduation because he likes everyone in the Class of 2012 and will miss them.

Compiled by Natalie Kirton

Kaylin Marie Hansen

Kaylin Marie Hansen was born July 23, 1993 and is the daughter of Judd and Michele Hansen. She has three sisters, Ashley Reitzler, Karah Hansen and Ainsley Hansen.

Her awards and achievements include several top places for team events in FFA.

Kaylin’s extracurricular activities include FFA(4), Speech & Drama (4), football cheerleading(4), National Honor Society (3), wrestling cheerleading (2), track (2) and Student Council (1).

Her best memories from attending MHS were making the varsity cheerleading squad for football her freshman year. 

The most important things in Kaylin’s life are faith and family. 

Her gift to the underclassmen goes to her sister Karah, “Stay out of trouble.” To everyone else, “Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something; hard work can get you anywhere.”

Kaylin’s favorite quote is from Phillipians 4:13: “I do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Her plans for the future are to attend the University of Iowa and major in Pre-Med.

Kaylin is excited for graduation because she is ready to experience new opportunities and meet new people. 

Compiled by Natalie Kirton.

Tania Jo Thompson

Tania Jo Thompson was born on April 9, 1994 and is the daughter of Rod Thompson and Angie Patterson. She has one brother, Tyler Thompson. 

Tania’s favorite hobby is spending time with friends and family. 

She says there are way too many embarrassing or funny moments to pick just one.

It is hard for Tania to narrow down her  biggest inspiration to just one.

Tania says, “I’ve learned many different things from many different people. They all mean the world to me, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. You know who you are!”

Her gift to the underclassmen goes to her brother Tyler “Bubby” Thompson: “Stay involved! You’ve got some talent, man! Keep it up, and don’t you DARE do anything I wouldn’t do!”

Tania’s favorite quote is by John Wayne: “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”

Her future plans are to attend Capri College in Cedar Rapids for cosmetology and to then move south to study social psychology.

Tania is excited for graduation because she is ready to see where this crazy journey we call life is going to take her; there is so much more out there to see and do.

Compiled by Natalie Kirton

Nathan Edward Wheeler

Nathan Edward Wheeler was born on April 13, 1994 and is the son of Harold and Pat Wheeler. He has three sisters: Audrey, his twin Natalie and his younger sister Allison. 

Nathan’s awards and achievements include being a member of the 2011 Farm Business Management State Champion and 3^rd place National Team; SICL All-Conference Honorable Mention in basketball; attaining the A-Honor Roll all four years of high school; Large Group All-State Speech & Drama Honorable Mention in Freshman Choral Reading, Readers Theater and Choral Reading; and being a member of the 2012 JazzFest 1^st Place 1A Band. 

His favorite activities are going out to see movies and eating with friends and family. 

Nathan’s extracurricular activities include band (8), soccer (8), school plays (4), FFA (4), Speech & Drama (4), basketball (4), National Honor Society (3) and cross-country (3).

His best memories while attending MHS come from winning State Farm Business Management CDE and traveling with his friends and teammates to Indianapolis, Indiana, to compete. 

Nathan’s most embarrassing moment was in basketball practice when he went up for a rebound and then came down with the ball and tripped over Stephen Vavroch’s foot, and then continued to trip until he face-planted into the padded wall under the basket. 

His biggest inspiration would be his family, Mr. Bates and Mr. Swenson. 

Nathan said, “Mr. Bates has always been a good role model to look up to and has good values. I learned the most from Mr. Swenson by far because he challenges people to step out of their comfort zones and to set goals for themselves.”

Nathan’s gift to underclassmen goes to his little sister Allison as well as Vincent Bushong: “Allison, I hope you continue to keep learning and sticking to the values you have been taught. Vincent, keep being involved with all of your extracurricular activities and stay strong in your values. Also, keep using your extremely long arms to block shots in basketball.”

Nathan’s favorite quote comes from football star Tim Tebow: “You and I were created by God to be so much more than normal…Following the crowd is not a winning approach to life. In the end it’s a loser’s game because we never become who God created us to be by trying to be like everybody else.”

His plans for the future are to attend Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, and major in sports management. After college he plans to get married and start a family. 

Nathan says he is excited for graduation because “it’s a time where we can look back on all of our accomplishments over the past 18 years and then set goals for our future. We can finally pursue our areas of interest and start doing something we enjoy.” 

Compiled by Natlie Kirton

Tiffanny Marie Taylor

Tiffanny Marie Taylor was born on February 21, 1994 and is the daughter of Bob Taylor and Deseri Scholtus. She has four siblings: Alexa Wheaton, Kylee Taylor, Destiny Wheaton and Syler Allison. 

Tiffanny’s achievements are attaining the B Honor Roll, and her favorite activity is volleyball.

Tiffanny’s extracurricular activities include track (2), volleyball (2) and basketball (1). 

Her best memories while attending MHS come from study hall with Mrs. Remp. 

Tiffanny’s most embarrassing moment was when she fell face first on the gym floor during a high school basketball game. 

Her gift to the underclassmen goes to Brittany Bender, “Always stay true to yourself and know who your friends are. You’re beautiful, girl, and I love your guts!”

Her favorite quote is, “Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

Tiffanny’s plans for the future are to attend the Iowa School of Beauty for Esthetics, and then to Capri College for Make-up Artistry. 

She is excited for graduation because she is more than ready to experience all of her future endeavors. 

Compiled by Natalie Kirton.

Levi Jacob Fahlenkamp

Levi Jacob Fahlenkamp was born on September 5, 1993 and is the son of Wes and Shanel Fahlenkamp. He has two siblings, Seth and Aly Fahlenkamp.

His awards and achievements include All State Honorable Mention for Speech & Drama during his freshman year. 

Levi’s favorite hobbies are listening to music, swimming, painting, inline skating and skateboarding. 

His extra curricular activities include golf (3), Speech & Drama (2) and football (1).

Levi’s best memories while attending MHS came from classes with Mr. Wilson and All-State Speech & Drama. 

His most embarrassing moment was when he slipped on his crutches and fell in the hallway in front of a lot of people. 

Levi’s biggest inspiration is his parents.

His gift to the underclassmen goes to his brother and sister, “School goes by faster than you would think, make each moment last.”

Levi plans to attend DMACC, move to a city and start a career.

He is excited for graduation because he wants to be more independent and experience more in life.

Compiled by Natalie Kirton.