Schwanebeck named January Senior of the Month
Perkins County High School senior Preston Schwanebeck has been named the January Pinnacle Bank Senior of the Month.
Schwanebeck is the son of Nate and Tara Schwanebeck. He has participated in football, wrestling, track and FFA all four years of high school and is a member of Plainsmen Pals during his senior year. He completed a work-study placement at Image Total Fitness as a junior and a work-study placement at Midwest Electric as a senior. Schwanebeck has earned numerous honors and leadership roles during his high school career. He served as a permanent captain of the football team his senior year and was nominated for weekly captain multiple times throughout his football career. In wrestling, he was a team captain as a junior, earned the Most Improved Wrestler Award and the Grit Award, and qualified for the Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament his junior year. In track and field, Schwanebeck earned Top Gun honors in shot put and discus as a junior and in pole vault and the throwers relay as a sophomore, placing him among the top 15 performers in school history in each of those events. In FFA, Schwanebeck received the Scholar Pin as a freshman for having the highest grades in his graduating class. He qualified for state FFA competition as a freshman, sophomore and junior in five different events and served as the FFA sentinel during his junior and senior years. Schwanebeck earned an academic letter as a freshman and has lettered three times each in football, wrestling and track. Additional honors include Academic All-State in wrestling as a junior, honorable mention D-10 All-District football as a junior, and First Team Offense All-Area football as a junior. Outside of school, Schwanebeck played soccer during his freshman year and volunteered with Zion Lutheran Church’s Vacation Bible School during the summers following his freshman and sophomore years.
When asked about his work history and lessons learned, Schwanebeck said, “I have worked for myself and started a mowing business. From this I have learned how to manage time and money and how to communicate with clients.“I have worked in fee and compliance for Nebraska Game and Parks. From this I have learned how to be able to stand up to people and enforce rules, de-escalate tough situations, and solve large-scale problems by problem-solving and using resources while under pressure.”Schwanebeck said he plans to attend the University of Nebraska–Lincoln after graduation. “I plan to attend UNL to study engineering; I will most likely study either chemical or civil, but as of now I am undecided,” he said. When asked what accomplishment he is most proud of, Schwanebeck said, “I have maintained a 4.0 GPA while being a three-sport athlete and being involved in FFA. I feel that by doing this, I proved to myself that I am able to balance doing several things in life at the same time while being successful.”Reflecting on what he values most from his school experience, Schwanebeck said, “I value the experience I gained in staying organized from high school the most. I have always struggled with keeping myself organized, and while in high school I have had to work on this area in order to keep all of my classes separate and my assignments worked on and turned in on time.”
In response to Pinnacle Bank’s focus on community, Schwanebeck said, “The community has helped shape me by showing the importance of helping other people out in a small town. This could be something as small as shopping local to something bigger, like doing hours of community service to help the community.“I have given back to the community by shopping local, starting my own business of mowing lawns to help other people who might not be able to mow. Helping Zion Lutheran Church with several things regarding their lawn including replacing sprinklers to mowing, and doing community service.“The most community service I did was pulling weeds from the park and planting new flowers. I have also been involved in helping with youth wrestling practices and have helped run several junior high and youth wrestling meets.” Schwanebeck was selected for the Pinnacle Bank Senior of the Month award based on academic achievement, leadership and service to his school and community. For being selected Senior of the Month, Schwanebeck’s picture will hang in the lobby of Pinnacle Bank in Grant and he will be eligible for a scholarship awarded at the end of the school year.
The Student of the Month and scholarship program are sponsored jointly by community members and Pinnacle Bank in Grant.