By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
For Genna George, dancing has always been a huge part of her life.
Through moves and new cities, it was the constant in her life.
“It was the one thing that never changed,” said George, who has been dancing since the first grade. “I just meet so many people that ended up being more family than friends.
“And I just genuinely love it,” she added.
With her love of dance as well as outstanding academic credentials, George was recently named the Standard Press Outstanding Senior for Burlington High School.
She was one of four nominees forwarded by the school. The other three were Cal Tully, Sawyer Gilding and Hegeman Tiedt.
George was ranked 36th of more than 260 BHS graduates with a 3.85 grade-point average. She said that her grades were important in pursuing her dance goals.
“Burlington really pushes student before athlete,” George said. “I knew if I wanted to do dancing in and outside of school, I would have to excel in the classroom.”
But there were other reasons that George took five advanced placement courses.
“Frankly, I just get bored if I don’t get pushed,” she explained. “So I took all the hard classes.”
She’ll try to continue her academic excellence at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. – another attempt to push herself.
“I’m really comfortable in Wisconsin,” George said. “I kind of just wanted to be out of my comfort zone.
“It was the only school I visited that really felt like home,” she added.
Through her time at BHS, George said, she had strong role models, both as a member of the poms team and DRIVEN, the BHS student leadership program.
“I had the opportunity to be influenced by some great student leaders,” George said, mentioning Adyson Dinatale and Alexa Aguirre. “Having the chance to be under their leadership gave me the chance to be the leader I was.”
That leadership paid off in part as a senior with the poms team, as BHS qualified for state for the first time ever. Having danced but never competed in her dancing outside of school, it was something that George loved.
“There’s a difference between performing just to perform, and performing to compete,” said George, adding that it was a different kind of adrenaline rush.
“It’s exhilarating,” she said.
Here are short capsules of the other three BHS nominees:
Sawyer Gilding
An actor and a singer, Gilding excelled as a member of the theater department and choirs at Burlington High School.
But Gilding was possibly best known for the time he put into the Burlington High School radio station, WBSD. He was the student director of the station for four years. His grandfather, Tom Gilding, recently retired from the Burlington Area School District after 39 years, serving as the general manager of WBSD the past few years.
Sawyer Gilding also participated in forensics for four years, and was a captain as a senior.
Gilding posted a 3.7 cumulative grade-point average and plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he wants to major in journalism.
Hegeman Tiedt
Tiedt was a standout athlete at BHS in both football and wrestling, qualifying for state in the latter and earning a walk-on spot on the Wisconsin Badgers in the former.
He also had a compelling story of perseverance. His father, Darin, suffered a stroke while Tiedt was a sophomore, and the family went through numerous struggles while Darin recovered.
Tiedt finished his senior year with a fourth-place finish at the WIAA Division 1 state wrestling tournament at 220 pounds, as well as a first-team All-Region award and All-State nomination.
The president of the EXPLORE Firefighter program with the City of Burlington fire department, Tiedt plans to major in emergency management and public relations at Madison, as well as continue work as a firefighter and EMT.
Cal Tully
Tully put the cap on his BHS career after graduation, as the Demons won the WIAA Division 1 state baseball title.
But in addition to his play on the athletic field (four years on varsity baseball, two years each on varsity football and basketball), he posted a 3.6 cumulative grade-point average and was on the honor roll all four years. He was also a member of DRIVEN.
He plans on attending UW-La Crosse to major in business and sports marketing.
Tully also spent time as a volunteer for Salvation Army, BHS youth sports camps, Special Olympics and Cold Hands, Warm Hearts – a fundraiser for the Transitional Living Center.
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