Rhiannon Allison is Rock Falls student of the month for January

Rhiannon Allison is student of the month for January in Rock Falls. Allison is a 17-year-old senior. Her parents are Matt and Nicole Allison. Her sibling is Lennon Allison.

What class do you find really engaging?

CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities). I spend 90 minutes every morning learning about different businesses, career paths and people in the community. Le Hartman, our facilitator, thoughtfully organizes each day for us and leads us on the right path but also allows us to figure things out on our own. Along with people in the community, I have met so many close friends in my class, including Ainsley Reed from Newman, whom I would not have met otherwise. I have learned more about the world and myself in the last six months than I ever thought possible. I’m so glad I made the decision to apply and give it a try.

What are your career and post-graduation plans?

I plan to attend a four-year university to study speech-language pathology.

What are your two favorite activities?

Two programs I enjoy a lot are BLIND (Building Lasting Impressions that Never Die) and BLAST (Bigs and Littles are Special Together). Both of these programs are run by Mr. D, who is one of the most amazing people I have ever met, and I don’t know what we would do without him. BLIND is a leadership/community service program spanning across five schools where we learn valuable lessons about communication, healthy relationships, helping out in the community and more. I love BLIND because I am able to learn so much about myself and others and use that knowledge to help people. BLAST is a program where we travel to Dillon and Merrill schools to spend time with our Little. We play games, teach life lessons and spend quality time with the children. My Little and I have become very close, and I get very very excited every time I get to go see him.

Please share a moment that was meaningful.

I will never forget all of the chemistry labs with Zoe Henson. Ms. Purdy would always blame us for “almost setting everyone on fire” when we repeatedly had to run the gas more and light extra matches. Zoe and I laughed so much and had so much fun doing all the labs together.

What is your hope for the future?

I hope to finish out my senior year strong and make as many memories as possible before my time at RFHS is over. Afterward, I hope to succeed and grow in college like I did in high school. I can’t wait to see where my next journey takes me.

Each area high school or support organization has its own process for selecting student(s) of the month.