Honoring Our 2021 Graduates

 Tristan Bohn

Tristan is the son of Jennifer and Leon Bohn. His grandmother is Vicki Brendes and his great grandmother is Betty Venis.

Leon writes:

Tristan would surely cite a number of achievements and events when recounting the things that meant the most to him during his high school career. He LOVED to sing in the choirs and was a percussionist in bands and ensembles all four years. He performed well academically, and always looked forward to the Linn Mar Buddies events that happened monthly.

Much of Tristan’s high school (and indeed life) experience, however, was enhanced by his participation on the men’s swimming team. Tristan was an active member of the team all four years and increasingly over the course of his journey, earned a great deal of respect and admiration from his teammates. His persistence and inner drive to always do the right thing laid the groundwork for several of the social bonds he created during that time. Recognitions for his performance as a swimmer and leader included a trip to Des Moines as a sophomore, where the Register acknowledged him as a top three contender (along with two seniors, that year) for the title of Special Olympic Athlete of the Year; accolades from his fellow teammates his junior year, when they voted him the year’s “Hardest Worker”; and over the course of his senior year, he was recognized by both The Gazette and KCRG with segments highlighting his work ethic and the inspirational role he played amongst his teammates. Tristan also always looked forward to the annual end-of-the-season swim team banquets, and this year, he walked away with a handful of recognitions, notably proud of one that recognized his exceptional academic performance throughout the season.

Following graduation, Tristan will direct his focus toward developing his domestic and vocational skill sets at the Success Center, followed by the time-honored quest for local employment.  Wherever that road takes him, Tristan plans to continue honing his skills as a swimmer, competing annually in the Special Olympics with the hope that one day he might do so at the national level. In the Gazette article, his coach was quoted as saying “Tristan is probably one of the top swimmers in the country for his para-swimming category.” Tristan’s humbled by the endorsement and one day hopes to realize that potential.

Allison Gruwell

Allison is the daughter of Denise and Roger Gruwell.

Denise shared:

Allison was honored in a virtual White Coat Ceremony on May 7.  She will be leaving Oregon and starting her rotations at the end of May spending the first three months at a refractive surgery center in Denver CO, another three months at the VA low vision hospital in Denver, three months at a primary care clinic in Windom MN and will finish the last three months at a primary care clinic in Prairie du Chien WI before graduating with a Doctorate of Optometry in May of 2022.

Kendra Thompson

Kendra is the daughter of Becky and Bill Thompson.

Becky wrote:

Kendra graduated from the University of Northern Iowa on May 8 with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications Disorders. She plans to continue at UNI this fall with graduate work towards a Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology.

Congratulations to these graduates and all of our other graduates – from kindergarten through college!