Addison Banse is the Student of the Month for April. She is the daughter of Nathan and Jodi Banse and has a GPA of 3.98.

Throughout high school, Banse has enjoyed AP World History, Financial Literacy, and the three PLTW biomedical classes. These classes have let her have different experiences in high school. AP World History gave her a college-level class experience and she enjoyed the people in the class, and Financial Literacy teaches about real-world knowledge while providing a change of pace compared to her other classes. The career-oriented biomed classes helped Banse decide the direction she wanted to go in for college.

In the fall, Banse will be attending the University of Missouri-Columbia to major in Health Sciences with an emphasis on pre-med.

Banse has been involved in basketball, softball, track and field, NHS, and Humanitarian Cord. She said from these activities, “I have learned a lot of different values such as leadership, how to build your character, and just how to become a better person overall.” Volunteering has led her to the elementary schools to help the kids, to Lutheran Church of Hope to be a youth group leader, to Kiwanis volunteer opportunities, and to sports youth events.

According to Banse, finding a balance between school and life outside of school and having time management skills are very important. Finishing school work on time and accommodating to teachers’ availability will also give students success in school, she added.

Being Student of the Month means a lot to Banse. She said it is “really awesome” to have her accomplishments recognized, and “It just shows that being a senior, that you’ve taken the right steps in the direction and hopefully this can continue after high school.” Banse thinks her hard work and dedication in her classes and sports during the past four years have contributed to her receiving this honor.

In recognition of her achievements, Raccoon Valley Bank has donated $100 to the ADM Scholarship Foundation.