The Rotary Club of Rosemount is pleased to announce that Rosemount High School senior Natalie Stoner is its January 2016 Student of the Month.
 
 
Sponsored by Inver Hills Community College and Dakota County Technical College
 
To say that Stoner excels in academics would be an understatement.  She has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school and is on track to graduate first in her class, as valedictorian.  She has taken a wide variety of rigorous courses at RHS, including, honors, AP and CIS classes. She indicates that she particularly enjoyed AP Biology, AP Psychology, CIS English and her Mentor Field classes.
 
As part of her Mentor Field class, she had the opportunity to job shadow a genetic counselor at the University of Minnesota’s Hospital. She also observes in a genetics ethics course with genetic counseling graduate students at the University of Minnesota.  She plans to pursue a career in genetics after college.
 
Outside of the classroom, Stoner is also a three-year member of the Rosemount Cross Country and Track and Field teams. She enjoys running and believes that being part of these running programs has been one of the greatest parts of her high school experience. She has also participated in Rosemount’s Speech Team, competition dance and 4H’s Youth Teaching Youth Program during high school. Two years ago she was awarded a Certificate of Honorable Mention for Promoting the Health of Dakota County’s Citizens because of her involvement in Youth Teaching Youth, a program that promotes drug, alcohol and tobacco awareness to elementary students.
 
Volunteerism has been a major part of Natalie Stoner’s life. She belongs to the RHS National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. She is both the Vice President and Webmaster of Rosemount’s National Honor Society. Currently, she is organizing and planning an event called “Pennies for Paige/Cents for Sydney,” which will raise money for two Rosemount students battling cancer. She is excited about this event and hopeful that her NHS Committee will raise a significant amount of money for both students through this effort.
 
Stoner is also a volunteer faith formation leader at St. Joseph’s Church in Rosemount. She explained, “I have enjoyed teaching first graders about our faith the past two years at St. Joe’s.” While she volunteers at St. Joseph’s Church, she has also participated in a St. Thomas Becket Project for nine years: the Easter Basket Giving Project. Donation baskets are raised through this project to deliver to people in need. Each spring, Stoner’s family spends a day with other members of their church delivering the baskets. Stoner says, “It is always humbling to meet with the families receiving the baskets and to see how grateful they truly are.”
 
After high school, Stoner plans to attend Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She plans to major in biology in order to prepare for postgraduate work in genetic counseling.
 
The Rotary Student of the Month Program is sponsored by Dakota County Technical College and Inver Hills Community College.