Posted: 3/5/03

FL seniors Joyer, Sobiech earn AAA award

Berk Brown
Staff Writer

As many things as Forest Lake seniors Doug Joyer and Mary Sobiech take part in, itís hard to imagine how they have time to do it all. Let alone do it very well.

Joyer and Sobiech are Forest Lake Senior Highís AAA award winners for the 2002-2003 school year. The AAA award is sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League and is awarded to a senior boy and girl who excel in academics (a 3.0 GPA or better), athletics and arts.

From all the school winners, a boy and girl winner are selected at the regional level. Sobiech was recently named the Region 7AA winner of the AAA award and is now up for the state-wide award. The state winners will be announced during the boys state basketball tournament at Target Center.

Sobiech is the daughter of Gerard and Donna Sobiech of Wyoming. Her achievements and accomplishments are many and wide ranging.

She ranks first in her graduating class with a GPA of 4.0. She has been a Student of the Year, three-time Student of the Quarter, distinguished three times for Spotlight on Scholarship, a two-year member of National Honor Society, winner of an All-State Academic Award and was a Wendyís High School Heisman Award nominee.

In athletics, Sobiech has earned a reputation as a hard worker and a rare leader.
She has participated in volleyball every year of high school, lettering twice and was all-conference honorable mention this year in helping lead the Rangers to their first-ever trip to state.

In basketball, Sobiech had earned three letters and twice has earned all-conference honors. She was also named one of the stateís top defensive players this winter.

In softball, Sobiech has started since her sophomore year, serving as captain twice and earning all-conference as a sophomore and junior.

In arts, Sobiech participated in band for two years, symphonic winds band two years and choir for one year. She has been a featured soloist and member of the all-conference band.

Sobiech also is very active in other school activities and community service. In the past three years, she has taken part in the youth hand bells at St. Peterís, Feed My Starving Children, Sharing and Caring Hands, Leaves and Fishes, Adopt a Community Service Basketball Team and she has done scoring for traveling basketball games.

This year, Sobiech has organized a school book drive, supervised youth night for fifth and sixth graders, works as a Sunday School assistant, took part in Breakfast with Santa, Adopt a Family and is a member of LINK.

In her letter of recommendation for Sobiech, Judy Dittberner wrote, ìMary Sobiech is an encouraging and positive influence in the classroom, on the court and on the field. She is smart, funny, well liked, easy going and talented in so many ways. Absolutely Mary is one of the finest young women I have had the privilege of knowing and teaching in 27 years.î

Joyer, the son of Jeff and Mary Joyer of Lino Lakes, also sports a long list of accomplishments and achievements. He is a scholar and President for Future Farmers of America and last year earned outstanding student recognition in speech.

He participated in football as a freshman and sophomore and ran cross country as a junior and senior. He has been a varsity wrestler for the past two years and qualified for ninth-grade state. He also is a two-year letterwinner in track.

As a freshman he participated in choir, he was a performer in the fall musical this year and for the past three years he has been on the technical crew for plays and musicals.

Other school and community service work for Joyer include FFAís Poultry Career Development, Demonstration CDE, Greenhand Degree and Chapter Degree. He was a member of student council for two years and his participation in 4-H has included its youth leader group, youth leadership camp YELLO, federation conference, state arts-in, county lock-in, youth leadership fall camp and camp counselor.

In his letter of recommendation for Joyer, Tim Newcomb wrote, ìDoug consistently sets realistic, yet demanding goals for himself and backs those goals up with strong determination to succeed.î

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