Evan Anderson

Evan Anderson will graduate from Northlake Christian School with varied interests, including music, science, religion, and scuba diving. Science is what Evan likes best: “Life sciences, mostly, as opposed to chemistry,” he explains.

That inclination will help him with a pre-med college curriculum, and possibly pediatrics as a future specialty, but he says that will be decided much later. His choice for higher education is Louisiana College in Pineville, because of its small-school feel. After visiting a number of other schools, he felt “Louisiana College is small enough that you know students and the teachers, and I’m used to a small school.” Evan’s 3.9 unweighted average helped earn him a scholarship to his chosen school.

He expects that college life will be similar to Northlake Christian, where “teachers genuinely care about you—not just the academics. They make sure that you have good morals and head you in the right direction. It has meant a lot to me.”

Northlake and his parents, Carla and Keith Anderson of Covington, have been instrumental in forming Evan’s philosophy for his life. It is, he says, “To go at life with a passion: to realize that you’re created for a purpose and to go out and find it. That’s the only way for true joy and contentment, and that’s what I strive for.”

Evan plays guitar with his youth band at his church and at chapel at school. He writes music, as well, leaning heavily toward alternative Christian sounds. It is, he explains, more like modern rock music than traditional Protestant hymns. The road to his music began with lessons at the music store where he bought his instrument, then from the music leader at his church. Now, with several of his friends, he has played at retreats, and has a festival gig lined up, but adds, wryly, that it’s not clear yet whether they’ll be paid for their performance.

Evan doesn’t always play it safe. He is certified to scuba dive; in Florida this past summer with his dad and cousins, he swam with the sharks. “It was scary, but a lot of fun,” he says, laughing quietly.

This Homecoming King is not just for looks!

Madeline Casey

In talking to outstanding students, one fact becomes clear: They are good at a number of things.

While academically superior, with a 3.97 unweighted average, Madeline Casey of Northshore High School in Slidell leans toward sports. The 5-foot-10-inch student athlete primarily plays basketball and softball, but “has played everything since I was five years old,” she says. It was soccer “a long time ago,” followed by volleyball in junior high, and tennis now and then. “I guess it’s my competitive nature,” she explains. “It’s just fun to play, and I definitely like to win.”

Madeline was captain and a shooting guard for her Lady Panthers basketball team, which, for the first time in 10 years, went to the state playoffs. The team set a new school record this year for the most wins, 23. Plus, the team won two of the three tournaments they played in.

As a softball player, Madeline has had All District Honorable Mention for two years, and says she plays everywhere except pitcher or catcher. (Awards this year will be made toward the end of the school year.) She practices 10 to 15 hours a week, with three to five games on weekends, as well as tournaments. “I used to be in Key Club, but athletics has taken over,” she admits.

Madeline helps lead the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Northshore, and speaks to the assembled students each Friday. She’s also in Alpha Omega, a Christian club. One of the most important aspects of her life has been attending Kamp Kanakuk, a Christian sports camp. Madeline was influenced by a counselor at the camp, an Oklahoma basketball player who, she says, “gave me inspiration and an example to follow.”

The experience has taught her to put “God first, others second and I’m third,” so she doesn’t place a lot of emphasis on herself. That makes it a bit difficult to wrench personal accomplishments from her, such as the fact that she was named Miss Northshore High School this year. She was Wendy’s High School Heisman nominee for athletics and for being an outstanding student.

Outside activities are limited for Madeline because of sports, but she favors country music. While she loves it, she doesn’t sing. Her favorite off-time activity is to go to the beach, but going there for spring break is eliminated because of softball.

Math comes easily for Madeline, “more than English, anyway.” And a recently introduced video class has caught her interest. “The best videos get to go on Channel 13 and, hopefully, by the end of the year I’ll have one,” she says. Madeline’s dedication in what she does has made her parents, Michael and Kim Casey, understandably proud.

Carrie Cushman

Carrie Cushman is 18, poised, articulate, intelligent and has already been elected governor and president. One-who-shall-not-be-named at St. Scholastica said she wished she could flunk Carrie just to be able keep her around.

Carrie’s interests are many and varied, and the results are always superior. It could be her willingness to put forth maximum effort. For example, each year, dot by dot and hour by hour, she makes the original art for her family’s Christmas card using the pointillist technique, which is similar to that used for head-shots in the Wall Street Journal.

An active member in the Kiwanis-sponsored Key Club International, Carrie served as lieutenant governor for the Louisiana-Mississippi-western Tennessee district in her junior year. She put out a monthly newsletter, held meetings for the presidents, planned interclub activities and was on the board that planned the annual convention. This year, she was elected governor. “It’s really neat, but a lot of work,” she says. Most weekends, she has visited district clubs, made speeches and helped organize committee work, and put out a newsletter.

Since the eighth grade, Carrie has been on the SSA Student Council; she was on the Executive Board of the Louisiana Association of Student Councils. At the 2004 convention, after a weekend campaign, a complex skit put on by SSA students, and her inspirational speech for her group, you-know-who was elected president of the LASC. Her term has ended, and she admits that it was hard to let go—although it was difficult at times “trying to find time and to balance school work, Student Council, state duties and other organizations.” Oh, yes—her grades. No, they didn’t suffer. She has a 3.9 unweighted, 4.3 weighted.

Carrie was St. Scholastica’s nominee to the parish for non-public Student of the Year, and was a semi-finalist. (SSA does not have its own Student of the Year award.) She is also a Eucharistic minister in the student ministry, a mentor for eighth and ninth grades and a member of Color Guard, National Honor Society, Math Honor Society and Science Honor Society.

She credits genetics for her organizational and management skills. Her mom, Denise, of course, and Dad, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Michael Cushman. Her choice of college? “That’s the big question right now,” she says. “We won’t know [for a while], but I’d prefer Notre Dame, Vanderbilt or University of Virginia.”

Her choice of a major is a bit complex. Having gone through the electoral process, it seems natural that one of her interests is political science. Art history runs a close second, she says, and explains that it’s possible to learn about a civilization by studying the way its art is expressed.

How does she manage to keep all these responsibilities in perspective? “I try to keep it balanced, but sometimes it’s hard,” she answers, showing uncanny maturity for someone not yet out of high school.

Jane Frances Rownd

For six generations, Jane Frances Rownd’s family has helped shape the history of Hammond. Now, seventh-generation Jane is poised to begin the process to assume her own community responsibility, just as her parents, Ann and Harry Rownd, have.

As drum major for Hammond High during her junior and senior years, Jane has been a bit more visible than most students. Strutting at the head of the band with her four-foot mace in hand, or directing from a stand on the field, she has lived her love of music. The hard part, she says, was trying to overcome being somewhat shy.

She plays the trumpet, not surprisingly considers “band and any music class” her favorite place to be, and might be an orchestra or choral director when her college days are over. Her talent has allowed her to become the principal trumpet player in the Louisiana Youth Orchestra in Baton Rouge.

It comes as something of a surprise, though, to find that she has also been the manager of the girls’ basketball team for four years, and has a crew of about 12 assistant managers to organize. That means having personnel to tend the entrance gates and the concession stand and making sure the water girls are there. Jane keeps accurate statistics during the game.

But, of course, there’s more. She has a 3.9 grade point average in the Honors Program, and was named second runner-up in the parish as Student of the Year. Her class voted her Most Likely to Succeed—even the other students know what’s coming! She served as secretary of Beta Club, and as vice president of the National Honor Society, organizing its raffle to benefit tsunami victims.

Jane confesses that her favorite assignment was a research paper on Nathaniel Hawthorne and his stories. “I really liked the research and editing,” she says, musing, “maybe I could work for a paper or music magazine.”

Jane’s time at Hammond High has been special, she feels, because “everyone is so welcoming—students and teachers, too.” She adds, “There’s a bond. Hammond High just seems like a second home to me.”

Sarah Satterlee

No description of Sarah Satterlee would be complete without the words effervescent, petite and intelligent. She is one of those people whose enthusiasm lights up a room.

Her gusto serves her well in track and field events. “Some of my friends groan about having to run their miles,” she says. “I can hardly wait to do my time in P.E. I just love it. It’s my favorite thing—flying through air. I can’t wait to jump.” She holds the school record in triple jump. Last year, this 5-foot-2-inch dynamo was fourth in state in triple jump, and seventh in hurdles. The girls’ track team has been district champion for the past three years; last year, Sarah and her teammates were regional champs and state runners-up.

Next in her list of favorite things could be dance. She has taken ballet since she was five years old, and from eighth grade through her junior year, she was a member of the Fontainebleau dance team, which won the state sweepstakes in 2004. “There just wasn’t time to do it during my senior year,” she says. Sarah has been class secretary for four years. She has also been part of the teams that put on the Sadie Hawkins dance and the prom, paint banners, design T-shirts, compete in in-school class spirit Mark competitions—“the seniors always win”—and “lots of other stuff.”

Sarah went to Girls State, which was “awesome,” was elected to the Senate, and will be a counselor at the event this year. The fact that she was one who was able to debate in the Senate chambers goes right along with her family proclivity. Members of the political Landrieu family—Moon, Mary, Mitch, etc.—are close relatives. One grandfather was president and CEO of Mid-South Utilities (now Entergy), and the other was an attorney. “Both of them smart and wise,” she observes.

Then, there’s her art. Sarah has been in art classes since the first grade, and is in two this year. She hopes to study art in college, as well, probably going in the direction of product design. “That’s fascinating. To take an everyday item and change it to make it easier to use and more attractive; to make it fun to look at and fun to use.”

With all that activity, Sarah has a 3.99 unweighted average, and hopes to go to Baylor, or to Samford University in Birmingham. Presently, she has a $32,000 scholarship to Baylor, and plans to talk to the art professors during spring break. She’s waiting to hear from Samford. “The cool thing about Samford is that the faculty is filled with adjuncts,” she says. “They are real good in their field, and teach classes—they stress hands-on practical knowledge.”

Sarah makes no bones about it. Her parents, Amy and Kent Satterlee, are her inspiration in life. She says very openly, “They are amazing, supportive and really smart. Dad’s an engineer, and helps me with my homework.” She also credits her church youth pastor, who has helped her “grow up, and helped me in my walk with God.” And through this leadership, Sarah now is mentoring a group of junior high girls.

No surprise that Sarah was Student of the Year at Fontainebleau. Selection was based on an essay, grades and interviews. “That was a real honor, considering who else was nominated,” she says.

Davis Zaunbrecher

From an early age, Davis Zaunbrecher looked forward to going to St. Paul’s School in Covington. After five years at the school, he says his sense of anticipation has been more than justified.

“There’s a sense of community at the school, the extra-curriculars are great, and I’ve made a lot of lifelong friends,” he says. He has certainly used his time extremely well.

After graduation, Davis will be one of only 13 alumni who have scored 1,000 points playing Wolves basketball. He is only the third player to have accomplished that in his junior year. He lettered in basketball for four years as a shooting guard, and was also All-District, All-Parish his sophomore and junior years. He expresses some understated pride in being named by the News Banner as the West St. Tammany Player of the Year.

“It’s a good thing I did so much by my junior year,” says Davis. He was sidelined for about half of his last season because part of a ruptured disc in his spine had to be removed. Davis played football his freshman year, but opted to concentrate on basketball. He has also indulged in a little golf, as well.

Davis will likely be valedictorian of his class, with a 4.0 average (4.51 weighted, with honors classes). “That is, if I don’t make any B’s or C’s before May.”

A member of National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta math honor society, he did some mentoring in the Leadership Training Program, working with a group of six boys in third to sixth grades. They discussed a Value of the Week, and then played some sport, or “just hung out.”

Davis’ inclinations, he says, are toward English and history, the latter probably influenced over the years by his dad’s collection of signatures of every American president, which are displayed in the family’s den.

“It’s interesting to read about their lives from all angles—different accounts of historical figures from different books. You find out that the story is not always the same,” he notes.

Because of his outstanding record, Davis has been selected as one of 90 students in the United States to be nominated for the prestigious Jefferson Scholarship at the University of Virginia. After a weekend of interviews at the university, 35 students will be selected for the next level and will be eligible for a full scholarship for four years.

When asked how he thought he’d do, he says, “I have a decent chance.”

In addition to being outstanding in athletics and scholarship, Davis is also fluent in Spanish, after taking the language for five years at St. Paul’s. Last summer, he participated in a school-sponsored two-week immersion class in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and the results were good.

“I guess I’m fluent. I could carry on a conversation with the people who live there,” he says, with one of his characteristic easy smiles and a chuckle.

Davis says that his parents, Susan and Alan, have been the major influence on his life, showing by example how to treat people and how to live right. They show respect and kindness, no matter who it is.

How would this extraordinary 18-year-old describe himself? “I guess I’d say I’m just an easy-going guy who treats people well and enjoys life.”

These exceptional seniors share several underlying characteristics: They readily admit the positive influence of their parents; their religion plays a strong part in their lives; and they are focused, work hard and are able to manage their time.

In addition to the six presented, there are many other outstanding graduates in our area. They are our emerging leaders who will shape the future—of the northshore and beyond.