The Lynx Way

Alissa Kuhn joins UNLV dance staff

Brandon native Alissa Kuhn has joined the staff of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas dance department staff.

Kuhn is a dancer, performer and teacher in Las Vegas. Born and raised in Brandon, she began training in dance and cheerleading at a young age. After dancing and choreographing both competitively and creatively, she is now a graduate of UNLV with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance/Choreography, as well as a DK Body Balancing Pilates certified instructor.

While in school, she worked with renowned artists such as Melanie Martinez, Miguel Perez and Alexandra Yonkovich.

Kuhn has spent ample time in Las Vegas and abroad, fueling her passion by participating in performances and events like Carmina Burana at the Las Vegas Smit Center, the International Association for Blacks in Dance in Los Angeles, the 59th Internationales Kieler Gymnastiktreffen in Germany, and the 19th IDCH in Athens, Greece.

In 2019, Kuhn made Las Vegas her permanent home where she has accepted various positions teaching hot, reformer and traditional mat pilates. She is also professionally dancing with Celestia, at the Strat hotel.

 

Fall BVHS athletics, fine arts recognized for academic excellence

Initiated during the 1996-97 school year, the South Dakota High School Activities Association Academic Achievement Team Award program is designed to recognize varsity athletic teams and fine arts groups for their academic excellence. The South Dakota High School Activities Association believes that high school students learn in two distinct ways; inside the classroom and outside the classroom – on the stage and/or athletic field. This academic program creates a positive environment for school teams to have its members excel in the classroom. This program is also meant to motivate students toward academic excellence and to promote academic encouragement from teammates. 

All varsity athletic teams and fine arts groups that achieve a combined grade point average of 3.0 or higher are eligible to receive the SDHSAA Academic Achievement Team Award.

Brandon Valley High School was recognized for team- and program-wide academic achievements during their fall seasons. The programs include the competitive dance and cheer teams, girls’ and boys’ soccer, volleyball and football, girls’ and boys’ cross country teams, football cheerleaders, boys golf, girls tennis oral interpretation, all-state orchestra and all-state chorus.

 

Dakota State 2019 Fall Honors List Released

A total of 563 full-time and 169 part-time students qualified for the President’s Academic Honors list for the 2019 fall semester at Dakota State University in Madison.

The following full-time students achieved a grade point average of 3.5 to 4.0 to qualify for the honors list: Brandon – Max Allmon, Megan Bassett, Autumn Driscoll, Cameron Gerovac, Briana Grage, Ryan Kaler, Jamie Procida, Mason Rusten, Jordynn Schumacher, Jordan Van Ooort; Garretson – Wyatt Baum.

Part-time students from the Brandon Valley Journal coverage area are: Brandon – Althea Alexandra Ascalon, Sarah Miller, Katherine Schuck; Garretson – Mara VanDeBerg. 

 

USD Fall Dean’s, Academic Honors lists released

More than 2,300 students at the University of South Dakota are being honored for their high achievement during the Fall 2019 semester with the release of the Dean’s List and Academic Honors.

Full-time, undergraduate students are named to the Dean’s List if they received a 3.5 GPA for courses they took in the Fall 2019 semester, and they had no incomplete or failing grades. For part-time students, those with fewer than 12 credit hours, the recognition is called Academic Honors.

Students from the area named to the Fall 2019 Dean’s List are: Brandon – Aubree Andrews, Nathan Bachman, Matthew Bengtson, Cortney Bickley, Krista Bickley, Jeanna Brandsrud, Jason Crumb, Kailee Duncanson, Alyssa Fick, Jacob Frantzen, Taylor Freeman,  Kelsey Frost, Taylor Gannon, Nicholas Hanson, Carter Haug, Andrew Holmes, Kate Huntimer, Ezekiel Klosterman, Emily Kluin, Emily Knouse, Alex Kolbeck, Ruth Kreutner, Claudia Martin, Carissa McMahon, Jason Mills, Jennifer Nelson, Tyson Newton, Morgan Palmer, Hailey Pieper, Sydnee Pottebaum, Alyssa Reinschmidt, Desiree Rohrbach, Levi Rustand, Levi Sternburg, Andrew Taverna, Marlie TeKrony, Kianna Thelen, Kane Tigner, Landen Van Hulzen, Ginger Wardlow; Garretson – Kyrstyn Beck, Nathan Popp, Noah Rieber, Rebecca Weiland.

Named to the Academic Honors List are: Brandon – Mentor Addicks, Rachel Braun, Rachael Gaertner, James Garrett, Tanner Wehrkamp; Valley Springs – Tasha Joseph.

 

BV students achieve academic success at Northwestern

Local Northwestern College students have earned a spot on the Academic Dean’s List for the fall 2019 semester. The Dean’s List is comprised of students who have achieved a semester grade point average of 3.50 or above while carrying a minimum of 12 graded hours. This semester, 428 students qualified for the Dean’s List. Students who earned a GPA of 3.75 or higher are considered Collegiate Scholars, designated with an asterisk. Of the 263 Collegiate Scholars, 84 of them maintained a perfect 4.0 average and are recognized with a pound sign.

Local students on the Dean’s List are: Brandon – Dustin Kemner, sophomore actuarial science major; Dylan Kirkeby, freshman mathematics and statistics major; Hannah Paauw, senior biology-health professions and psychology majors; Valley Springs – Riley Bennett, senior exercise major; and Ryan Sjaarda, freshman actuarial science and religion major.