Hill City High School sophomore Riley Dierolf, is your average teenager. He is active in the community, enjoys spending time with friends, likes to play video games and participates in the arts, theater and band at school. Then he was offered an opportunity that could very well change his life.
Dierolf explained that a few weeks ago he got a call from his older friend, Jeff who said, “Hey, Riley, I have a really big opportunity I’d like to talk to you and your mom about at church.”
There were about 60 entries for this year’s Hill City School District science fair sponsored by Parent Involvement Parent Teacher Organization. Despite the snowstorm the science fair drew a lot of attendees including Hill City resident Mary Larson.
Larson has been coming to the science fair since its inception. She enjoys seeing the creativity of the students.
“Their ideas are so amazing,” said Larson, who also likes the way students follow through.
Joslyn Veneklasen, a freshman in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences ranked among the top 2 percent of students in her college at Iowa State University.
South Dakota State has announced Andrea Guadalupe-Rodriguez Odland of Hill City has graduated following the summer and fall 2022 semesters. Odland graduated with a bachelor of science in Nursing in SDSU’s College of Nursing.
Hill City’s very own Lillie Ross was invited to play on America’s Team USA girls high school basketball team. Ross is a junior at Hill City High School and plays on the Ranger Girls Basketball Team.
For this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ross was able to choose between three locations to play including Australia, Spain and the Dominican Republic. Ross accepted the invitation and chose to play in the Dominican Republic.
Where did you grow up and go to college? I grew up in Rapid City and went to college at Black Hills State University after a brief stint at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
How long have you been a teacher? This is my first year as a teacher.
We have completed the first semester of school and they seem to go quicker every year. We are just days away from Christmas and I would like to offer kudos to the different departments in our school.
Last week I met with the school superintendents of South Dakota for our annual meeting. We discussed many items ranging from budgets to curriculum. Yet, the item that I was most intrigued about was how schools can do a better job of promoting public education. This is an item near and dear to my heart. I love communicating with our stakeholders via email, social media, newsletters and by attending community functions.
Where did you grow up and go to college? I grew up in the small rural town of Lake Wilson in Southwest Minnesota.
I got my fine arts bachelor of arts from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn. I returned to SMSU later to get my K-12 art education bachelor of arts.
What grade/subject do you teach?
Middle School Reading
Where did you go to college?
I was born in Milwaukee, Wis. and moved to Hill City when I was 6 years old.
I attended school in Hill City first through 12th grade.
I attended Black Hills State University, graduating in 1993.
How long have you been a teacher?
I have been a teacher for 28 years; I’m currently starting my 24th year teaching at Hill City Middle School.
