Where are they now?

     This year, the Monticello High School Class of 2020 experienced an unprecedented year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The school year was cut short in mid-March. Seniors lost out on all of the fun activities commemorating their last year of high school.

     Now, these same students prepare for their first year of college, not knowing whether they’ll be able to physically sit in a classroom with their peers or be forced to take classes online.

     Blythe (Polito) Anderson and Danielle (Bagge) Napraynik were both top in their MHS Class of 2005. (Anderson was valedictorian and Napraynik was salutatorian.) Both recalled their years attending MHS, where they ended up after high school, and advice for the Class of 2020 as they prepare for an uncertain future…

Blythe (Polito) Anderson

     “High school graduation is a significant milestone, which makes your accomplishment – graduating during a pandemic – even more impressive,” shared Anderson. “Your senior year did not end as you expected, and in the midst of adjusting to distance learning and dealing with all the additional stress of the pandemic, you’re trying to make plans for what comes next during a really uncertain time.

     “My advice is to focus on the next right step for you, and given the circumstances right now, that may mean taking a lot of short-term steps until the path forward seems more clear. Work hard, but rest and play, too.”

     While attending MHS, Anderson was active in volleyball, basketball, band, and International Club. During her summers, she worked at a lifeguard and taught swimming lessons.

     Anderson said she was honored to be her class valedictorian.

     “I think I was always more focused on just doing as well as I could in school so that I would be prepared for college,” she admitted. “Being valedictorian opened some doors for scholarships support, and that was really helpful.”

     Anderson went on to attend Wartburg College and Winona State University, earning a degree in elementary education and a master’s in education. She taught for several years Minnesota and served as a district’s literacy coordinator.

     Anderson married in 2015 and moved to Michigan, where she earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education.

     In 2017, the Andersons welcomed their daughter Myra.

     Now, the family is preparing to move to New York where Anderson will be an assistant professor of literacy education at the University of Buffalo this fall.

     Anderson said she always thought she would become a teacher. In high school, she “knew then that I was interested in teaching young children to read.” However, she never anticipated becoming an educational researcher until college, where her interest grew.

     Looking back on her days at MHS, Anderson said there are many advantages to living in a small community like Monticello. “The opportunity to be involved in a lot of different activities, and many of my memories are related to sports and music.

     “I think what was most lasting about these experiences was learning to keep up with a pretty full schedule and stay on top of schoolwork, which was important in college and critical in grad school.”

     Specifically, Anderson points to lessons she learned in Dan Sauser’s math classes. When it came to taking her first doctorial-level statistics course at Minnesota State, she was thankful she took Sauser’s probability and statistics classes.

     “After more than 10 years, it was all a bit fuzzy, but at least the basics sounded familiar,” she said.

     “Thank you to all my teachers and coaches (at MHS)!” praised Anderson.   

Danielle (Bagge) Napraynik

     With high school students taking on a lot and staying busy, Napraynik said she learned “how to balance many competing priorities.” She said that skill proved to be useful in college and later in life.

     In school, Napraynik was involved in cross country, basketball, choir, band, speech, student council and the Silver Service program.

     Being her class salutatorian was an honor.

     “It was a representation of my focus on my schoolwork, while balancing a lot of extracurricular activities,” she said. “The best part about MHS was the ability to be involved in so many activities.”

     Napraynik admitted she would come back and do high school and college all over again if she could, simply because she made so many great memories.

     “Basketball and cross country practices, while sometimes painful, were generally fun because my teammates made it fun,” she said. “But cross country left a lasting impression on me, as it was equal parts an individual and team sport.

     “Knowing how to react in situations where the success of the team is dependent upon individual performance has proven to be a valuable skill post-high school.”

     In addition, Napraynik said Monticello has a lot to offer young people, “unique avenues for fun.” She has great memories of spending her weekends with friends hanging out in the middle school parking lot and cruising the loop.

     After high school, Napraynik attended the University of Iowa, earning a degree in finance and a minor in communications. She then moved to Minneapolis for a career in finance at General Mills, where she’s been for 10 years.

     In that time, Napraynik also pursued a degree in business administration from Northwestern in Chicago.

     She’s now married to Eric, and they have a 1-year-old daughter named Emma.

     “I don’t think I knew what I wanted to do in high school or event the first part of college,” admitted Napraynik. “I really enjoyed English classes, so I thought I might potentially go to law school.” She found out she also enjoyed accounting, finance, and economics, which led to her current job.

     Napraynik’s advice to the Class of 2020: “Enjoy your summer and find ways to celebrate with your classmates. Try nee things, see different places, and take this time in your life to check off some items on your bucket list.”