Student of the month: Dane Siebels

     Each month, Monticello High School nominates a student who exhibits positive behavior, as part of an initiative called PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports). The students support the school’s characteristics of Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Safety, and Integrity.

     Despite having to quarantine for two weeks during the timeframe in which he could have been selling fruit, meat, and cheese for the MHS FFA Chapter, Dane Siebels worked hard to assist in the distribution of the fundraiser.

     Siebels was nominated by FFA Advisor Eric Schmitt for Student of the Month for December. Siebels came in to assist in unloading and sorting fruit on a Wednesday (a non-school day) at 6:45 a.m. There were about 10 FFA members in total helping that morning. By 10 a.m. the sorting project was complete, and Schmitt shared that Siebels chose to stay at the high school all day and help people load their fruit.

     “He acted as a liaison for me, as I was able to meet with students in my classroom,” Schmit continued. “Dane went well above and beyond the timeframe that was needed and very much exhibited responsibility and citizenship. He made a normally stressful day go very smoothly.”

     Siebels, a freshman, is a first-year FFA student. He explained he found out about being nominated for student of the month while sitting in Rebecca DeWitte’s English class.

     “I thought I was in trouble,” he admitted. “It was a surprise.”

     Siebels is not one to bask in the limelight.  He definitely did not stay to help with loading FFA fruit for any sort of notoriety.

     “I just did it. I had nothing else to do that day,” he said of helping. “It’s an honor to be nominated.”

     Those FFA members who sold fruit, meat and cheese had from noon to 5 p.m. to pickup their items at the high school.

     “Every student had his/her own pile,” Siebels said.

     He also helped students load their items if needed.

     Siebels joined FFA after years of being in 4-H.

     “It’s fun to get to know other people (involved in FFA),” he said.

     The pandemic has put a stop to a lot of things, including FFA events. Siebels said that’s one thing he’s missed is not being able to attend FFA conventions.

     “We had an online version,” he said.

     Aside from enjoying his time in FFA, Siebels also enjoys his manufacturing and small-engineer repair classes.

     “I like these classes now because we didn’t have these classes in middle school,” he said.

     His favorite subject is Agriculture I with Schmitt.

     “He’s a nice guy and fun to be around,” Siebels said of Schmitt. “His classes are fun.”

     Siebels stays busy on his family farm helping his dad and grandfather in their body shop.

     “I help with anything they need help with, engineer work on cars, trucks, semis. I also help clean out the shop.”

     Siebels is the son of Darin and Nikki Siebels of Monticello.