Bottner is selected Student of the Month
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
“I love small towns!” said Ella Bottner, the Concordia High School Student of the Month for January.
The daughter of Jon and Lindsay Bottner, Ella and her family moved to Concordia from Annapolis, Maryland, just two years ago.
“I was nervous about coming here,” Ella said. “I thought I would be ostracized. But it's like one big family. Everybody knows everybody. Instead of being in a class of 400 students, I was able to really connect with people. Moving here turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.”
A bright, engaging young lady with a quick smile, Ella has participated in student council, scholar’s bowl, National Honor Society, Friends of Rachel, and she's the manager of the girls' basketball team.
“I love sports, but I'm not very sporty – I'm too clumsy,” she said. “As a manager, I get to be part of the team without embarrassing myself.”
Her favorite sport? “Baseball. I grew up watching the Orioles. Some people think the game is boring, but I really like it.”
In her spare time, Ella enjoys listening to music, hanging out with her family, and learning new things.
Her favorite music? “I listen to everything. I like oldies. I just got a record player, so I'm wasting all my money buying records: Glenn Miller, Led Zeppelin – I just love it all. My parents have very different musical tastes, so I was exposed to a lot growing up.”
She also likes... driving. “Being from a city, there was always city traffic. Here, I can get in a car and just drive around and look at things. When I moved here from Annapolis my driver's ed canceled out, so I had to start over. I was the oldest person in the class! I didn't get my license until I was 17. So now I just like to drive around. I drove to Manhattan all by myself, and I was a nervous wreck! But I did it. I've got a lot of confidence now.”
Ella plans to attend college after she graduates from CHS and earn a nursing degree. Perhaps even become a doctor. “I'm very undecided on which school - probably either Hays or Wichita State. But my mom is a nurse, and I've always wanted to be a nurse since I was a kid. I want to help people. I work now as a CNA.”
Ella's interest in the medical field was formed in childhood. “When I was a kid I was in and out of hospitals a lot. I appreciated the medical care I received, and now I want to help people, too. I might go all the way and be a nurse practitioner or a doctor.”
When Ella looks to the future, she is certain of what she sees. “I'll be married and have a really good job, like being a nurse, or I'll be going to med school to become a doctor. And it'll definitely be practicing medicine in a small town, because I love small towns!”
Congratulations to Ella Bottner, the CHS Student of the Month for January.