Hometown Hero - Bethany Jensen
This week’s Hometown Hero is Bethany Jensen of Onalaska High School.
This last week, Bethany participated in the Wisconsin State Senate Scholar program in Madison. Just like past Hometown Hero Briana Schwabenbauer, Bethany was nominated by our own State Senator Jennifer Shilling for this highly competitive week-long educational program. It is designed to give students experience in policy development, constituent relations and the legislative process. Bethany is one of 33 students from around the state who were chosen to participate in this session and she was the only applicant from Onalaska High School.
She heard about the program from her Advanced Placement Government teacher in school and was thrilled to be a part of this year’s program. As a Senate Scholar, Bethany got to sit in on a lot of meetings around the Capitol, including some meetings of the Joint Finance Committee. One day all the scholars got to serve alongside the professional pages on the Senate floor and got to experience the hectic excitement of session day. Another day, she and the scholars served as messengers for the Senators, delivering papers from office to office, passing along information and occasionally braving the rain to pick up someone’s lunch order. She says that while the Capitol building is quite a confusing place to navigate, she had wonderful chaperones from the Chief Clerk’s office who helped her not get completely turned around.
In addition to hearing the ways of the Senate, Bethany had the opportunity to sit down with staffers from the Legislative Technical Services Bureau, Reference Bureau and Audit Bureau. She said she was impressed by the large nonpartisan infrastructure in the legislature all designed to help us representatives to our jobs to the best of our ability.With all this education, I know Bethany will have no trouble at all should she decide to apply for an internship in the Senate or the Assembly (hint hint).
Bethany is only a junior at Onalaska High School but she already has big plans for college. She is considering studying engineering, but after her week as a Senate Scholar, that might have changed. For now she is looking at programs at UW Madison, UW Platteville and her dream school, MIT. Did I mention that she is a 4.0 student too?
Not only does Bethany excel academically, but she is also incredibly active in a number of extra circular activities. She plays oboe, saxophone, flute, clarinet, and as she says “of course” piano. She recently competed in the State Solo & Ensemble where she performed in 10 events and got incredibly high scores in all of them. She is a member of the National Honor Society and a member of Link Crew, a group designed to help incoming freshman adjust to high school life. For 15 minutes a day, Bethany and other members meet with 8th and 9th graders to help them prepare for both the academic and social challenges of high school. Bethany also formed a special sub group of Link Crew to help high achieving 8th and 9th graders begin to plan their post-graduation futures. She runs a tutoring program called “Stay for an A” for middle school math students to give them a little extra help on their homework and she is a member of Spanish club. I’m sure I’ve forgotten something.
We definitely need more people in the world like you, Bethany; people who are willing to devote themselves whole-heartedly to improving their community and the lives of their neighbors.
Congratulations to you, Bethany! Keep up the good work and continue to be a Hometown Hero.
Hometown Hero is a weekly feature put together by Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska). If you have any suggestions of a Hometown Hero, send a short description of why you think this person should be a Hometown Hero and contact information of both you and the nominee to rep.doyle@legis.wisconsin.gov.