Academic All Star Kathryn Hildebrand
OSSEO, Minn -- I'm not making excuses, but I learned how to play chess in the 3rd grade.
I was 9-years old, and the year was 1972. Chess fever hit America after Bobby Fischer wrested the world championship from Russian chess master Boris Spassky in a series of games that was just the latest in a series of Cold War battles between east and west.
Kathryn Hildebrand wouldn't be born for another two decades, and at the same time that Kate was growing to become a proud member of the Osseo High School chess club, my chess game would be accumulating nearly four decades of rust. Hence, my well-placed apprehension about squaring off with Kate on the chess board.
"When I play chess I have a strategy of how I'm going to put everything in line and with that I have to organize my life, kind of similar to that," says Kate. "I set the goal of taking your king and I have to achieve that through basic steps."
It's with that business-like approach that Kate has become the President of the Student Senate at Osseo High school and a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
"Actually, it was a unanimous vote into the President position," says Kate. "So, we were pretty excited about that."
Standing 6th in a class of almost 500, Kate carries a 4.0 GPA, and plans to attend the University of Minnesota.
"I kind of want to do something in business management," says Kate. "I'm not sure how I can do that. That's what I like about the Carlson school is that you've got a year to kind of figure it out."
Kate credits Osseo High School for helping her find her current internship, for helping her attain Rotary Youth Leadership awards, and attend business camp at the U of M.
Says Kate, "It was a week-long program where we went to different businesses throughout the metro and we went to business classes, and we just did a big networking, it was really fun."
Which brings us back to chess. As you might guess, I didn't provide much of a match for Kate, as she collected my pieces almost as quickly as you could say "Academic All-Star."
Next up for Kate is the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. A place where I'm sure she'll find more suitable competition for her considerable business skills, not to mention her chess game.
(Copyright 2011 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)