Student Anticipates Summer, and Then Yale
By Edie Grossfield, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Jun. 2–Chris Riederer will be accepting his high school diploma tonight along with about 145 other Lourdes High School seniors.
But before he heads off to college this fall, he will spend the summer working in a Mayo Clinic MRI lab. He will write software and help a doctor solve a problem related to measuring blood flow through the heart.
“I’m really looking forward to that because (research) is something I might want to go into as a career later. It’s going to be fun,” Riederer said.
Riederer is described by his high school principal, Dennis Nigon, as a well-rounded, well-liked young man who possesses more than one talent.
“He’s very generous with his time when it comes to assisting others, and service learning is a big part of our work here,” Nigon said. “I think a great thing about this kid is he’s very balanced. He’s been involved in so many things, and he has excelled in virtually all of them … he’s just kind of the whole package.”
Riederer is one of the top 10 students at Lourdes, a college-preparatory school that seems to have completed its mission well in his case: He’s headed to Yale University this fall.
Yet the student is modest. When asked about his accomplishments, he responded: “My grades are pretty good. They may not be the best in the school, but they’re probably up there.”
Truth be told, Riederer has an impressive list of academic and other accomplishments under his belt, including a Minnesota Math Scholar of Distinction award, Latin Student of the Year and National Merit finalist. He also was a Jessica Murray Memorial Drama Student of the Year, a three-time winner of the Voice of Democracy award at Lourdes, a winner of the Olmsted County Outstanding Youth Award and an Elk Student of the Month.
High school graduation often is bittersweet for students. They are excited to be done and looking forward to their futures, and friendships are bound to change as people begin taking separate paths in life. Riederer expressed those kinds of feelings, saying said he is looking forward to spending time with fellow Lourdes grads this summer.
“I think senior year has just been great for the class overall. I think everyone has kind of opened up more to each other, and so it’s going to be fun just hanging out with some of the people that I haven’t had as much time in the past to be around,” he said.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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