The Mineral Point Kiwanis Club was set to honor its March Students of the Month at its meeting Tuesday, March 17, but unfortunately the pandemic altered those plans. #PointerNation would like to take this opportunity to honor Bodhi Broderick and Payton Lawinger virtually and hope we can honor them in person at a later date.
The students, who are members of the senior class, are selected for this honor through a voting process by staff at the high school, and their biographies are written by themselves.
Bodhi Broderick
Bodhi Broderick is a senior at Mineral Point High School. He is the son of Jennifer Clayton Logueflower and Generik Broderick, and brother to Abel Logue.
He participates in many clubs and extracurriculars, including Band, Choir, Trap Shooting, Track, Math Team, Mock Trial, Musical, Key Club, and Future Business Leaders of America. He used to work at Popolo’s Pizza, then he worked construction in Madison, and most recently, he worked as a stocker at Walmart. He enjoys tinkering with computers and building drones, as well as casually playing video games and sports such as tennis, pickleball, and basketball.
Bodhi plans to attend UW-Stout for a career in Electrical Engineering. Bodhi also wanted to acknowledge that he owes a large part of his success to the incredible faculty at MPHS, in particular Mr. Matt Nevers, who has always inspired Bodhi to achieve greater things and be himself. Finally, he wants to sincerely thank all of his teachers who work tirelessly, whether in school or forced by circumstance to remain at home, for enriching the lives of students such as himself with knowledge.
“Best wishes in the future Bodhi! Although I didn’t have you in school, I have always enjoyed your helpful attitude, kind disposition, and friendliness! Good luck in the future! Always do your best!” ~ Jill McGuire, Kindergarten Teacher
“Congratulations on your selection as the Student of the Month. You are a great example for underclassmen as you work extremely hard to be successful in all of your classes. Thank you for being such a respectful individual and always willing to lend a helping hand. Good luck to you with your future as I am positive it is very bright. Best wishes.” ~ Matt Austin, High School Principal
“I met Bodhi when I was the elementary secretary. He was very shy then and has remained so throughout his middle and high school years. He is always respectful and polite when coming in to the office. Bodhi is an extremely talented individual, playing percussion for the high school band. He is also active in choir and does an Auto Maintenance class through Southwest Wisconsin Technical College at Hallada Motors in Dodgeville. Bodhi was also recently named to the National Honor Society which is an amazing accomplishment. I believe Bodhi has an amazing future ahead of him studying electrical or mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. I wish him the best of luck in all of his future endeavors.” ~ Janet Lawinger, High School Administrative Assistant
“During my time with Bodhi Broderick as a student, he has developed as a musician rapidly by being fully committed to varying projects and taking on multiple opportunities. He always comes to class prepared and armed with a smile and an open mind. Bodhi regularly serves as a role model for his peers in his determination to improve, willingness to try new things, and patience towards others, particularly in my college music theory course. Over his high school career, he has earned the choral awards for Most Improved Baritone and Best Enthusiasm, and is currently studying choir independently. His ability to maintain a relationship with the ensemble and to basically teach himself much of the choral music is extremely impressive and valued. I have also had the pleasure of working with Bodhi during the musical theatre productions. For our production of ‘Once Upon a Mattress,’ he served as our Light Board Operator. This year, Bodhi took on a massive onstage role in ‘Les Miserables,’ earning him the award for Rookie Male Lead. Bodhi has also represented the MPHS vocal program in varying choral festivals across Wisconsin, including 2020 Dorian Festival, 2019 and 2018 SWAL Honors Choir, and 2017 UWP Honors Choir. Last year, he also competed in the Solo & Ensemble Competition, earning first place at the district level. In all of our community tours as an ensemble, I have always been able to rely on Bodhi to represent the school and program in a positive light. I have enjoyed witnessing him balance and grow within his multiple interests over the last few years. Bodhi’s kind and fun-loving personality, work ethic, self-motivation, and consideration for others will take him far in life.” ~ Ashley McHugh, Middle/High School Choir Teacher
“Bodhi has been such a pleasure to teach these past seven years. I have known Bodhi ever since I started teaching him in 5th grade. He is very studious, and has a want to learn. I would assign him things to practice, and he does it, even at a young age. This has made him into the musician that he is now. Bodhi jumps at anything to do with music. He took my Music and Culture class knowing about the challenges of this college level class. He has taken Music Theory, another college level class offered at MPHS. He has been a member of choir these past two years, as well as band since 5th grade. This past year, he was onstage in our production of ‘Les Miserables’ asking if you could hear all the people sing. In band this year, I had a sign up to finish the year with a jazz band. We were set to start on what would end up being our first day out of school for social distancing. Bodhi was the first student to sign up. He is a terrific leader for everyone in the band, and everyone looks up to him for his leadership and poise. Our pep band definitely would sound different if it wasn’t for Bodhi on drumset. I wish Bodhi the best in his future and the MPHS Band will sure miss him.” ~ Matt Nevers, Middle/High School Band Teacher
Payton Lawinger
Payton Lawinger is a senior at Mineral Point High School. She resides on a small farm just outside of town with her parents, Ted and Janet, and her younger sister, Ivy. Her oldest sister, Savannah, and her boyfriend, Ben, live right across the driveway. Their farm consists of beef show cattle, show pigs, their two dogs, Oliver and Dudley, and their many cats.
Payton has been involved in many school groups such as Key Club and FFA, plus athletic teams including volleyball, basketball, and softball where she has earned varsity letters in each. She’s been on honor roll and high honors throughout high school, is a member of the National Honor Society, tutored a middle school student, and now tutors two high school students. Payton takes four college classes and has been named Operations Coordinator for Mineral Point Media.
Payton raises her own Hereford cattle, showing them at Spring Preview Shows, Badger Kickoff, World Beef Expo, Wisconsin State Fair, Hereford Junior Nationals, and the Iowa County Fair. She also assists in farrowing her own pigs to show at the Iowa County Fair.
Payton loves to be active in the workforce, saving as much money for college as possible. She babysits for two to three area families, does office work and dispatches buses after school for Lamers Bus Lines, busses tables on the weekends at Hi-Point Steak House, and does maintenance in the summer for the Mineral Point School District.
At this time Payton would like to recognize two people that have been amazing mentors. The first is her sister, Savannah, who has overcome obstacles to be one of the strongest and most dedicated people she knows. She’s always looked up to her and cannot wait until they’re both in the education field. The next is a second grade teacher, Mrs. Denise Gorgen, who was an inspiration to her when in elementary school and recently allowed her to do work experience in her classroom where she spent four days a week, 75 minutes a day, working with struggling students, correcting work, and reading with small groups. Working with Mrs. Gorgen solidified how much she wanted to be a teacher.
This fall, Payton will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, majoring in Elementary Education with a minor in Psychology. After college she’d like to teach second grade in a rural school where she can remain active with her Hereford cattle and stay close to family.
“Payton has always been a friend to everyone and her sweet smile is valued by those who know her. In kindergarten, she enjoyed discovering how things work and experimenting with art. She was also a very nurturing ‘mother’ to all the babies in the play corner. As I have watched Payton grow into adulthood, I enjoy the poise and confidence that she has gained with age. I’m proud of the young woman you have become, Payton, and I wish you luck in the future! Once our world is back on track, I hope you have the chance to enjoy your high school experience with a celebratory ending!” ~ Jill McGuire, Kindergarten Teacher
“Congratulations on being selected as the Student of the Month. Throughout the year it has been great to hear about your experiences working with elementary students and how these have shaped your career path. As you complete your senior year, I am glad to see that you have found your passion in education and I am excited for your future. It was a pleasure to have taught you and good luck.” ~ Matt Austin, High School Principal
“Congratulations on becoming Student of the Month. Your maturity and leadership skills have always been advanced compared to others your age. For some students, design and computer graphics takes much time to learn but for you it just comes natural. Thank you for constantly tutoring others in Graphic Design. You have a very bright future with so many career options ahead of you. I’ll miss seeing your smiling face every morning.” ~ Lesley Macaulay, Middle/High School Art Teacher
“How do I start when talking about my own daughter? Payton has gone from a timid preschooler to a bright young lady who has been active in a variety of groups throughout high school such as Key Club, FFA, National Honor Society, Yearbook, and Multimedia, plus a varsity letter winner in volleyball, basketball, and softball. Last semester Payton had work experience in Mrs. Gorgen’s second grade classroom which helped her decide that education was the field she wanted to pursue. She is taking four college classes and has tutored both middle and high school students, which gives her the experience she needs to start off her career. Although we’re going to miss Payton tremendously when she attends the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay this fall, she has been looking forward to this opportunity for quite some time now. We wish her all the luck in the world!” ~ Janet Lawinger, High School Administrative Assistant