Kelly is December student of the month at Newman Catholic High School

STERLING — Daniel Kelly, a senior, is the December student of the month at Newman Central Catholic High School.

He is the son of Deborah Kelly and Ryan Kelly and has two siblings, Shannon Kelly and Erin Kelly.

What class do you find really engaging and why?: A class that I found really engaging was Chemistry 2 my junior year. Chem 2 was a dual credit course taught by Mrs. Everett. The class itself was a challenging class that made us really use our brains, which I really enjoyed. I had five other classmates, all of which were boys that I am friends with. On Mondays and Wednesdays we would get out of class 40 minutes early and go to the library and have a study hall. The actual class was very hands-on filled with various labs and fun experiments. Mrs. Everett once made water from mixing hydrogen and oxygen in a PVC tube, then all of a sudden, a loud BANG! If anyone was tired, that noise sure woke them up. I learned a lot in that class, not just about chemistry, but also about how to manage my time wisely.

What are your career and post-graduation plans? What school(s) or other instruction, travel or endeavors do you have planned?: My plans for after graduating high school is to attend Iowa State and study agricultural engineering, with hopes of working as an engineer for companies like John Deere or New Holland. I chose this path for the reason of making it easier for farmers like my Grandpa who own a farm and work on their own equipment. Many times while working on equipment you find complications and other troubles that frustrate you. I know that I will be able to create equipment that is easier to work on for farmers from my experiences.

What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in?: Two of my favorite extracurricular activities are wrestling and math team. I have been participating in wrestling since I was 4 years old. I’ve always loved wrestling and I think it is the best sport in the entire world because it is the most rewarding sport. Not only have I grown my ability to wrestle, I have also grown as a person as it has taught me thousands of life lessons that I will remember throughout my life. All of the coaches in wrestling are also terrific, as they are former state champs and really fun to be around. My other favorite extracurricular activity is math team. I joined the math team last year and really enjoyed it, even making it to state. There are only two competitions in math team, Regionals and State. For both competitions you go to a college campus and just have fun with your friends.

Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable?: A group event that was meaningful to me was our junior year religious retreat, Kairos. Kairos is a three-day retreat where you get to stay in a retreat center with your classmates and get to get away from school and not have to worry about it. I really enjoyed this event due to the different perspectives I saw from different people. I got a lot closer with many of my classmates during this time and it was a really meaningful event to me.

What is your hope for the future?: My hope for the future is for me to become successful in whatever I choose to do. Whether it be me becoming an engineer or working on a farm I just want to be successful. I do hope I am able to stay around the area so I will be able to see my family and friends. I also hope that if I become an engineer that I make equipment easier to work on for the workers that operate and fix those machines.