Buskohl, Gilbert, Hopkins, McDonough, Thompson, and Wingerter are 2023-24 CHS inductees
BY JIM BEERS, Contributing Writer
CHESTER — Chester High School Principal, Jeremy Blechle, and School Counselor, Casey Hawkins are pleased to announce that six students from the Chester High School graduating Class of 2024 have been designated as Illinois State Scholars.
Those students include Jordan Buskohl, John Gilbert, Garret Hopkins, Rylie McDonough, Lucas Thompson, and Mabry Wingerter.
Jordan Buskohl is the daughter of Jason Bart Buskohl and Dr. Jodi Beth Buskohl. Jordan said, “I came to Chester High School my freshman year whenever Covid was going on. It was very hard to stay motivated throughout that first year. Sophomore year we returned to normalcy and high school started to feel like high school.”
“I have been very blessed to have a great support system behind me. My family has been the reason that I have remained motivated throughout my high school career. I have genuinely enjoyed taking classes at CHS and have looked forward to walking into school every day. The teachers are so wonderful and I have been blessed to learn from them all!”
At CHS Jordan loves playing volleyball and says that she couldn’t ask for a better team. She was named the “Best Offensive Player” her junior year, was named to the All-Tournament Team this season at both the Benton and Trico Tournaments and set a record for most Varsity Kills with 500 this fall.
Jordan has been on the Honor Roll all 4 years; she is a member of the CHS Summit Chapter of the National honor Society; and last year she was a graduation Marshall.
She is currently a member of the Youth Advisory Council, a SADD Officer, an Earth Day Service participant her sophomore and junior years, Homecoming Decorating Committee, member, she earned an Academic “C” her freshman year, and is a member of the Pep Club and Spanish Club.
Outside of school Jordan enjoys playing volleyball, fishing, hanging out with friends, learning about science and anatomy, watching St. Louis Blues Hockey, listening to music, and traveling.
Her future plans include possibly attending John A. Logan College to play volleyball after which she will transfer to SIU-E to pursue a CRNA License and/or something else in the field of medicine. She hopes to be able to travel the world eventually.
John Chase Gilbert is the son of Fred and Mary Gilbert. At Chester High School John has been active in the CHS Environmental Club, otherwise known as the “Green Team”. He is also a member of the Table-Top Gaming Team, the Art Club, the CHS Newspaper called the “Sting”, E-Sports, and the CHS Scholar Bowl Team.
John is very active in the Chester High School Concert Band and Jazz Band. He was the recipient of the Frederick Allmeyer Award as a sophomore for dedication to the CHS Band Program.
At CHS Gilbert has keen interests in the Arts, Math, the Sciences, and Video Gaming, both as a member of the Table-Top Gaming Club and at home in his spare time.
John has plans to attend college upon graduation from CHS and hopes to focus in the field of sciences, possibly in Chemistry or Biology. In either case, he wants to do research in the field of Sciences. He states that most likely he will begin his post-secondary education at Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) in Red Bud and Belleville for his “general” courses.
Garret Hopkins is the son of Ryan and Christy Hopkins. He is active at CHS and is involved in the Summit Chapter of the National Honor Society, NHS President his senior year, Class President both junior and senior years, Scholar Bowl the last three years, Scholar Bowl Captain his junior year, Spanish Club the last three years, Spanish Club Vice-President this year, Theatre his sophomore year, Prom Committee his junior year, Homecoming Committee his junior and senior years, and Graduation Marshall his junior year.
Garret played football all four years and was part of the Cahokia Conference Championship teams his sophomore and junior seasons and appeared in the State Football Playoffs his sophomore, junior and senior years. He ran track his sophomore year and was a member of the 4X8 All-Conference Relay Team.
He has also been a key member of the CHS Music Programs. He competed at the Solo and Ensemble competitions all four years. He was an important member of the CHS Pep Band all four years. As a member of the CHS Marching YellowJackets he marched in all of the 4th of July, Fall Festival, and Christmas Parades.
At CHS he has earned several awards including Homecoming King his senior year; Prom Court his junior year; College Board National Rural and Small Town Recognition Award his senior year; Honor Roll all four years; DAR Good Citizen Award his senior year; and Illinois State Scholar his senior year.
Mr. Hopkins is also active in the community of Chester with American Red Cross Blood Drives; tutoring his junior and senior years; the “Just for Jackets” food pantry; CHS Halloween event his junior and senior years; and he has served as a VFW volunteer his last two years.
While at CHS Garret has earned college credits in sociology. He plans to go to a University after high school and study International Relations and eventually begin Law School.
Rylie McDonough is the daughter of Matt McDonough and Chelsie Mueller.
At Chester High School Rylie has been a member of the Summit Chapter of the National Honor Society. She also competes on the YellowJacket Scholar Bowl Team.
All four years she has been highly involved in the CHS Music Department. She plays in the Marching YellowJackets, the CHS Concert Band, and the CHS Jazz Band. She has competed at Music Contest both organizationally and with solo performances. Rylie has also been very involved in the theatre department at CHS throughout her high school career.
In her spare time Miss McDonough enjoys listening to music, crocheting, hiking, walking and spending time with her dog, Moo.
Rylie was an Illinois Girl’s State attendee last summer prior to her senior year and she most recently received the honor of being recognized as a College Board recipient for Small Towns and Rural Areas. This is a national recognition.
After high school Rylie plans to attend Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Her course of study is undecided at this time.
Lucas Thompson is the son of Keith and Christal Thompson. Throughout his high school career Lucas has maintained a perfect 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) and has been on the Chester High School Honor Roll all four years.
Lucas has been a member of the CHS Summit Chapter of the National Honor Society for two years. He was chosen to attend Illinois Boy’s State at Eastern Illinois University last summer prior to his senior year.
Mr. Thompson has been an avid member of the Chester High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes group all four years at CHS and serves as a Leader this year. He is also a long-time member of the St. John Youth Group and attends St. John Lutheran Church.
While at CHS, Lucas has been a key member of the Chester High School YellowJacket Golf Team and has been a leader on that squad. He hopes to continue his golf career at the collegiate level once he graduates from CHS next May of 2024.
He is also a key member of the CHS YellowJacket Basketball Team and plans to continue that involvement this senior year. Recently, Lucas was selected to be a part of the Youth Advisory Council which met at Rend Lake College. This spring he will be a participant in the Mock Trial program in Springfield, Illinois.
His major academic interest at the college level is to perhaps focus on getting a degree in Cyber-Security or Computer Engineering. In his spare time, Lucas enjoys playing golf for both relaxation and to maintain his skills for a potential collegiate career.
Mabry Wingerter is the daughter of Chris and Nicki Wingerter.
Her freshman year Mabry earned High Honors academically. She played on both the JV and Varsity Volleyball Teams.
Her sophomore year Mabry earned high academic honors and played Varsity Volleyball. She won the award for “Best Defense” on volleyball and was an All-Tournament and All-Conference selection. Mabry also joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) as a sophomore.
As a junior, Miss Wingerter really broadened her scope of involvement at CHS. She once again joined FCA and several other organizations including Spanish Club, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), National Honor Society, CHS Pep Club, and Medical Explorers.
Her volleyball expertise continued to increase and broaden as she was chosen as Volleyball Captain. She also was an All-Conference selection. She was on the All-Tournament Team and was awarded the “Teammate Award”.
In addition, Mabry was selected to go to Illinois Girl’s State her junior summer and she won 2nd Place in the Voice of Democracy Contest. Finally, Mabry was selected to attend the HOBY ILCS and was honored as a Hugh O’Brien Award Recipient.
This year as a senior, Mabry is a High Honors Student, has been chosen to serve on the Advisory Youth Council, the Women’s Leadership Initiative, and she is the Vice President of the Summit Chapter of the National Honor Society. Miss Wingerter is in the Pep Club, the Spanish Club, FCA, SADD, and Medical Explorers.
She was the MVP of Volleyball Team, and was a volleyball Captain. Other volleyball awards will be announced during the Spring Sports Awards Night.
In her spare time Mabry loves playing volleyball. She also enjoys baking desserts. Her future goals are to play volleyball at the collegiate level and get into a Physician’s Assistant Program.
The Illinois State Scholar designation is a non-monetary award. Recipients receive a congratulatory letter and Certificate of Achievement from ISAC. They can also download an official Illinois State Scholar Badge to display on their online profiles and social media platforms. Such badges can further be shared with their high school counselors, employers, family members and others.
The designation as an Illinois State Scholar begins not on the year that they graduate from high school, but it is based on the year they would begin any post-secondary education.
The ISAC strongly recommends that all high school students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, (better known as FAFSA) so that they can make the most informed decisions and choices possible about their education after graduating from high school.
FAFSA results are used to determine a prospective student’s eligibility for any available federal and most state and institutional financial aid. Such financial aid is available for any type of post-secondary education including certificates, two-or-four year degree programs, and some vocational programs.
There is also an Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid that may determine that a student could be eligible for some state financial aid even if they are not eligible for federal student aid.
ISAC further supports high schools and students statewide by offering free assistance with college and career exploration. They also help students complete financial aid forms and college applications. Recent college graduates are trained to serve as near-peer mentors to assist students and families in navigating education after high school.
State Scholars represent approximately the top ten percent of a high school senior class from about 765 high schools across the State of Illinois. These students possess strong academic potential.
Potential recipients must be United States citizens and be residents of the State of Illinois. They must also be attending approved high schools. Finally, they must perform in the top one-half of their class at the end of their third semester prior to graduation.
Chester High School Counselor, Casey Hawkins said, “As a school counselor, it is always an exciting time waiting for the Illinois State Scholars to be announced. This acknowledgement is quite an honor as it is indicative of the hard work by select students as well as kudos to Chester educators. I am very proud of all!”