Senior Spotlight: Brandyn Beahm, The Robot Master!

Meet RHS Senior, Brandyn Beahm who is involved in many activities offered by Ripon High School. Brandyn currently has a Youth Apprenticeship with Ripon’s largest employer Alliance Laundry Systems here in Ripon. What drove Brandyn to pursue this job is his love for robotics and engineering and the opportunity for real-world experience in those fields. Brandyn is also co-captain for the high school's Robotics team.

Colin (left) and Brandyn (right) show off their Robot at a competition

In a conversation with Mrs. Rieder, the RHS librarian, she had great things to say about Brandyn. 

“Even though I am not an actual teacher at Ripon High School, I have had the privilege of getting to know Brandyn as his First Lego League (FLL) coach and RHS Robotics mentor. While Brandyn has always been interested in robots, it has been amazing to watch as he has progressed from building a robot out of Legos in FLL to designing, wiring, and programming a large industrial robot that can complete complex tasks for the RHS Robotics team. Brandyn’s main strength is that he is always willing to learn new skills. Between the Robotics team and his apprenticeship at Alliance, Brandyn has learned multiple coding languages. He puts in the time outside of school to research and learn how to write code himself instead of relying on someone else to teach it to him. I will miss Brandyn’s willingness to teach others what he has learned. He has been a role model to the underclassmen on the Robotics team. Brandyn is willing to work side by side with the new members as they learn how to design, build and program the robot.”

Brandyn is also a dedicated athlete. You will find him down at Ingalls during the fall and spring. Brandyn has played football all four years. In the spring Brandyn competes with the RHS Track Team. His main event is Pole Vaulting. During his junior year he qualified for indoor state and was First Team All-Conference. He is part of relay teams, and competes in the 100 meter dash. Outside of school Brandyn is part of a training group called Polebenders. This group provides opportunities to kids of all ages to train and compete in tournaments for Pole Vaulting.

Brandyn completing a vault in a competition over the summer

In a conversation with Mr. Brad Roost, a science teacher at RHS, shared, 

“Brandyn Beahm is an amazing student in and out of the classroom. Brandyn was in my Biology class his sophomore year. He is also a member of the National Honor Society which I advise. Even with clubs, work, and sports, Brandyn has achieved high academic achievements. He clearly is a well-rounded young man.  He was always a lot of fun to have in class. When Brandyn was in my Biology class, he and a group of other students had a cardboard cutout of me made and created a website about me. It was all done in good fun. Although embarrassing, it was also very complimentary. I have no doubts Brandyn will succeed wherever he lands after high school.” 

Unlike most Seniors, Brandyn has his plans for the future set and is ready to start the next phase. Brandyn will attend UW-Platteville and pursue an engineering major. Even with a challenging  major, he plans to continue being a student- athlete and be a part of the UWP pole vaulting team. 

While he was in middle school Brandyn discovered that he wanted to be an engineer, he found his love for robots from the middle school LEGO League robotics club. Once in high school, Brandyn started taking Tech-Ed classes with Mr. Jon Potratz. I sat  down with Mr. Potratz and talked with him about what Brandyn has achieved in his four years.

“Brandyn is a well- rounded young man who is driven and very intelligent. He has taken 3-4 classes with me in his four year run at RHS and in that time he has demonstrated incredible abilities within my area of study. He is currently not taking any of my courses at the moment, but in the past- Introduction to Engineering Design, Introduction to Manufacturing and Construction, Energy and Transportation. Brandyn is a consistent hard worker, great problem-solver/ engineering brain, team player & leader (robotics club), motivated. I will miss his efforts in class and will miss talking to him about his youth apprenticeship as he was always doing very advanced and impressive tasks at his placement.” 

Seniors and Coach Bradley stand together after their last game all together as Tigers

During his sophomore year, the YA program was introduced and Brandyn decided to get involved to fully know if this was the career path he wanted to follow. He first found out about Alliance and “absolutely loved it”. He has been working there for two years and still enjoys it, this was his deciding point that his path would be engineering. 

Some of Brandyn’s favorite memories of RHS are hanging out with his friends at various sporting events. Some of his absolute favorites are when he and his friends would get together and goof off. He really loves track meets, whether it's cheering  his friends on or just hanging out with them in-between events. Following Graduation, Brandyn shared he will miss playing sports and being with all his RHS friends in one place. He knows that everyone will be spread out and it will be hard to see them all at once. His best memories come from participating in extracurricular activities with his friends. 

Brandyn and a group of friends during Prom

Brandyn, we can't wait to see what you’ll accomplish in your remaining time here at RHS and what you'll do with your future.

Senior Spotlight: Liani Rodriguez, The Music Extraordinaire!

Our second spotlight is RHS Senior Liani Rodriguez! 

Liani is involved in many different extracurriculars. She currently has an internship in the Murray Park Quest Music Department, is a member of Drama club and Gender and Sexualities Alliance (GSA). Liani is passionate about bringing justice to those who feel they are silenced.

In a conversation with Mr. Brad Roost, RHS Science teacher and GSA advisor, he shared, 

“Liani Rodriguez is an unforgettable student. She was in my Biology class as a sophomore and Earth Science class as a junior. She has also been an active member of the RHS Gender and Sexualities Alliance which I advise. This year she is the club's Treasurer. Liani has been focused on social justice including fighting for the LGBT students in our school as well as the addition of LGBT-themed books to the Media Center's collection. Liani is a fiercely loyal friend and a fighter. She is not afraid to speak her mind and stands up for those who experience injustices (including herself). I think this is her superpower. I think I will mostly miss her random drop-ins before school or between classes when she needed to vent or just grab a granola bar when she was hangry. I'm excited to see what the future holds for her.”

Liani and friends having taking pictures before the Homecoming dance

Liani plans to attend UW-Whitewater to pursue a major in Music Education. Her discovery that music can change a student’s life has inspired her to want to become a Music teacher. She is immensely grateful for a group of staff members who coordinated her internship at Murray Park Elementary with Music Teacher Mrs. Christina Muenchow. Liani assists Mrs. Muenchow with 3rd graders Music classes. Liani describes her experience at State Solo and Ensemble with the jazz band as one of her biggest accomplishments which helped to build her love for music.

In Liani’s four years, her favorite memories at RHS are being a part of all the different activities and groups offered by Ripon High School. She loves that there are opportunities other than being a part of a sports team and feels that Ripon offers more opportunities than other schools. Liani appreciates her teachers and will miss being a part of the jazz band with Mr. Erickson and Mr. Roost’s club meetings or going into his classroom to get a snack from his “secret stash”. 

Liani and friends taking a fun picture with Mr.Propson (Vice Principal & Athletics Director) 

Liani, we are so proud of what you have accomplished in your time at RHS and we can not wait to see what you’ll do in the future!