Newsletters 2017-18 Focus newsletter, [4] SPRING | Page 6

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
PAGE 6
Anoka High School scholarship
winner wants to become a teacher
Madey Anfang loves school. Particularly Anoka
High School (AHS).
“I like spending time here at school more than I
like spending time at my own house sometimes,”
the senior said with a smile. “I love the atmosphere
here. It’s something I can vibe with — everyone lov-
ing everyone and being a big family.”
It’s probably no surprise that her love and enjoy-
ment for school has sparked an interest in what
Madey wants to do as she prepares for college.
“I want to be a teacher, and I want to come back
to the district to teach,” she said. “I love and appre-
ciate the diversity of (Anoka-Hennepin). I’d love to
come back here and teach.”
And she’s already well on her way. Madey has
already been accepted to the University of
Wisconsin-LaCrosse where she will study elementary
education, and if that wasn’t enough, she recently
learned she was one of four students nationally to
win a National Association of Federal Education
Program Administrators (NAFEPA) scholarship to
help with her collegiate studies.
Specifically, Madey won the John A. Pfaff
Scholarship, which is a one-time, $2,500 scholarship,
awarded annually to a student pursuing an educa-
tion to be a teacher.
“It made my day when I found out,” Madey said.
“It was super overwhelming, and I was full of grati-
tude and shock that I was one of four people in the
whole nation to receive it.”
“ I really like seeing when
kids learn something and
it clicks. ”
- Madey Anfang
Graduate spotlight
John A. Pfaff, who the scholarship honors, served
NAFEPA as secretary, vice president and two terms
as president, according to the NAFEPA website.
“Pfaff is a retired local practitioner, principal, and
coordinator of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA) for the Sheboygan Area
School District in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He repre-
sented his state for more than 23 years on the
NAFEPA Board of Directors. His vision created this
scholarship program and organized the first
fundraisers to support scholarships.”
In March, Madey learned she had won the schol-
arship from her school counselor, Kari Schell.
“It’s still a little crazy to think that I won,” she said.
And Madey wasn’t the only AHS senior to apply
for the scholarship. “When I got to the post office
to make sure it was in the mail on time, there were
six other kids all in line to submit for the same
scholarship,” she said. “There are a lot of students,
I think, who want to get into education and become
teachers.”
Th at piqued interest may be thanks to a program
Anoka-Hennepin recently launched in its high
schools, including AHS, called Education Teach and
Train, where students act as interns in the classroom,
the gymnasium, the lab, the sporting field, the art
studio — anywhere lessons are taught.
For Madey, the experience just solidified what she
already knew: she wanted to be a teacher.
“In the Education Teach and Train program, I
worked in two classrooms at Andover Elementary
School — fifth grade English and third grade art. I
loved it,” she said. I really like seeing when kids
learn something and it clicks.”
Madey’s family at home, which includes a younger
sister and younger brother, has really helped spur
her interest in education as well, she said.
Anoka High School senior Madey Anfang earned a $2,500
national scholarship awarded to students interested in
becoming a teacher.
“My brother is in fifth grade and he struggled a
little, but the amount of help he’s received and the
push he’s gotten from his teachers — it’s really pret-
ty cool,” Madey said. “It’s inspiring, and one of the
reasons I want to come back to this district to
teach.”
Madey said her family is proud of her and excited
she won the NAFEPA, but she’s been so busy, she
hasn’t had a lot of time to sit down with her family
and map out college quite yet. In addition to being
in the top 30 in her class academically, Madey is an
actor and assistant director for the AHS theater pro-
gram, is in choir, the Student Council treasurer, is
part of DECA and the school’s National Honor
Society (NHS), and works two jobs.
“Now seems like the time to be busy,” she joked.
“I’ll breathe a little in June, maybe. But right now
I’m super excited to finish my senior year and then
go to college.” ■
cont. from page 8
“She showed up to practice every day, and
when she walked through the arena doors she
became a different person. She was locked in on
improving,” he said. “She was incredibly focused
on getting better each and every day.”
He describes Rooney as polite, generous and a
great role model, and said he is incredibly proud
of her success.
“She earned it,” he said. “Nobody gave it to
her, that’s for sure.”
Winter Olympic hero Maddie Rooney speaks to
Andover High School students during an assembly
March 20. Rooney, a 2015 graduate, visited her
alma mater just weeks after leading the US
women's Olympic team to a gold medal.
“He’s just been a great person to look up to for
help and advice.”
The decision to allow Rooney on the boys team
wasn’t without controversy – some of Manney’s
colleagues and parents of other players expressed
concerns about everything from locker room
issues to denying a boy an opportunity to play.
But Manney said it wasn’t a difficult decision for
him at all. He had been watching Rooney play
since she was 10 years old and said she was an
elite goalie from a young age.
After Rooney graduated from Andover, she went
on to play hockey for the University of Minnesota-
Duluth, and as one of the top three goalies in the
country was invited to play on the U.S. women’s
national team her sophomore year. That team
went on to win gold at the world championships
in 2017, earning Rooney a chance to try out for
the Olympic team last May. She said she was
“overjoyed” to make it on to the Olympic team,
which required her to move to Florida for seven
months prior to competing in South Korea.
“ Having the medal hung
around my neck was such
a proud and humbling
moment because it was
something I had dreamed
about my whole life. ”
- Maddie Rooney
When asked where she keeps her gold medal,
Rooney demures.
“I need it a lot for different appearances, so I
keep it close by,” she said. “We have a really nice
case for it, and eventually I’ll put it away some-
where safe.”
Rooney is currently studying business marketing
with an emphasis on sports marketing, an interest
that was sparked by a marketing class she took at
Andover High School. She said she hopes to work
for a professional sports team someday, and to
continue to play hockey competitively for as long
as she can. She also coaches various youth teams
in the summer and offers goalie instructing for
players ages 6 to 16 years.
But her connection to Andover remains strong:
She said she plans to stay actively involved with
the high school girls hockey program and help out
whenever she can, including at summer camps this
year. She said she’s extremely grateful for the sup-
port she’s received from her hometown.
“If I tried to name everyone at Andover who
influenced me I’d be here a while,” she said. “I
would just like to thank the whole staff there,
especially during this past year. So many teachers
reached out to me and were supportive of me,
and it just meant a lot and helped me while I was
over in Korea. Just to know the city of Andover
and my high school were behind me meant a lot
to me.” ■