Senior Spotlight: Hannah Pearl, Tim Minier, Nina Winkler, & Ian Mullis

Hannah Pearl

Hannah Pearl has her eye on the big picture.

She grew up in the Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools, entering kindergarten with her twin sister Emily. She will leave as St. Philip’s Valedictorian, entering the University of Michigan with a scholarship.

“I’m excited to go to Michigan,” Hannah said. “I’m excited to have a big environment.”

This four-year Math and Science Center student was offered scholarships from four different universities, but her mind was made up.

“I want to go into engineering and [Michigan] was the only college I applied to that had the major I wanted – industrial and operations engineering,” Hannah said.

Hannah was attracted to industrial engineering because it is “big picture engineering”.

“I like being able to make processes better,” said Hannah, who just finished an internship at Denso Manufacturing.

There will be one familiar face in Hannah’s bigger environment. Twin sister Emily is Michigan-bound as well.

Tim Minier

Tim Minier chose Alma College for a lot of reasons.

“I went up there and I liked the campus,” Tim said. “They have a decent science program and I want to study biochemistry. That was nice. And they would let me run there, so that was perfect.”

Alma more than “let” this decorated track star run there. They offered him a substantial scholarship to do so.

“That scholarship was alright,” Tim said with a smile.

This Saturday, Tim will run as a Tiger for the last time, competing with his team in the State Finals. This fall, he will run as a Scot, while pursuing his degree.

After that, the future is wide open.

“Biochemistry is pretty broad as to what you can go into,” Tim said. “Once I get my degree, I can go on to be a doctor or I could go into personal training or physical therapy.”

Nina Winkler

Basketball is Nina Winkler’s game, but when it comes to her future career, it’s all about track.

Nina wants to be a pharmacist. She laid the groundwork for that goal her senior year, dual-enrolling at Kellogg Community College, taking AP Biology, and talking to counselors.

“I looked at my track,” Nina said. “I’ve got two classes knocked down already that are on the track to pharmacy school.”

Taking those classes now instead of next year meant this honor roll student had no time for a senior internship, but the end justifies the means.

“I’m getting my pre-requisites out of the way so I can take my PCAT and hopefully get into pharmacy school,” Nina said.

Nina will continue her studies at KCC, but it won’t be all work.

“As far as I know, I’ll be playing basketball [for KCC],” Nina said. “I’m very excited about it. It will be fun.”

Ian Mullis

Ian Mullis has done a lot in the name of math and science.

“I took double math and science courses my sophomore year, AP Calculus BC at the Math and Science Center my junior year, Statistics at Kellogg Community College my senior year, and Computer Networking at the Calhoun Area Career Center,” Ian said. “I wasn’t required to take these classes; I wanted to take them.”

Why?

“I enjoy math and science because you can approach a problem many different ways but there is only one answer,” Ian said.

Ian wants to be an engineer – the kind that doesn’t have a desk.

“I want a job that allows me to design, create, and improve things,” Ian said. “I don't want to sit in an office all day. I want to work with my hands and my mind.”

A 2017 Gold Key Scholarship recipient, Ian will begin his studies at KCC.

This is the final “Senior Spotlight” for 2017. It has been an honor to get to know these young adults better. They have made us proud and we wish them best. May God lead them safely on their next adventure. ~ nlvm