Nominated by Katie Alm
I have known Landen since he was a third grader. I have not been lucky enough to interact with him since he has left the middle school. In the years that I have known him, I have found him to be a kind, determined, dedicated, and extremely hard-working person.
Landen has always had a kind and generous heart. As a young boy, he would often donate items to animal shelters with his family. He is also accepting of people from many walks of life. When teaching him, I could always count on him to be kind to new students.
Along with being kind, Landen is also a determined student. As a Sophomore, he was taking classes for upperclassmen. He is starting to look into courses to help him prepare for life after his high school graduation and is actively looking into coursework to prepare him for a career in healthcare.
Landen organized a food drive this past school year with two of his classmates. Before setting up the food drive, he personally went to talk to staff to make sure they were OK with his idea. They collected numerous items for the food drive. Landen then transported these donated items to the Tomorrow River Area Community Kitchen (TRACK). It is my understanding that so many items were donated, five or six trucks full of food for TRACK and Operation Bootstrap, that the middle school student council did not do their Christmas food drive.
He has also donated many of his used books to the middle and high school library. I know many students were excited to check out these books, since they were very high interest.
Landen also works as a lifeguard at the Iola Scandinavia Fitness and Aquatic Center. When I am at the pool with my three small children and Landen is working, I feel at ease. I know he takes his job seriously, which means the people using the pools are actively monitored.
Before COVID, Landen volunteered for three years with the Special Olympics at UW-Stevens Point (UWSP). Since COVID, UWSP has not had a Special Olympics event. If they did, he would eagerly volunteer again. He also participated in the Polar Plunge with the high school. He raised the most money of any participant. All money donated went to the Special Olympics.
Landen has volunteered twice to clean garbage off the side of Highway 161 through his Ultimate Frisbee team.
He became a member of the National Honor Society as a Sophomore. He is already taking nursing classes towards earning his nursing degree. He wants to become a nurse because he loves to help people. This is something he has been talking about since he was in sixth grade. I love to see his dream of helping others through nursing starting to come true due to his hard work and determination.
Steve Swan, Landen’s Ultimate Frisbee coach, said that Landen is a team player who brings positive energy to the field and puts forth a lot of effort at practice and games. He added that Landen is an important part of the team and has grown tremendously as a player.
Tim Welch, Landen’s supervisor at the Iola-Scandinavia Fitness and Aquatic Center said, “Landen has been a huge asset as a lifeguard and swim instructor here at the Fitness and Aquatic Center. He is a respectful, caring, soft-spoken young man. He communicates well with young children and adults equally. I find him to be extremely responsible and willing to help out in any way needed. I wish him the best in his nomination as he is very worthy of this recognition!”
Anyone that knows Landen would describe him as a kind, determined, hard-working, compassionate, and responsible individual. If all young adults possess the qualities that Landen does, our future is in great hands. Landen’s future is bright.
I know that there are many more reasons why Landen deserves this recognition. However, he is a very humble person and does not like to share all his accomplishments. I cannot think of a more deserving student for this award.
