Balance. It is ever so important in the lives of every high school student across America. Students are forced to sacrifice grades, sports and extracurriculars all to try and keep the best balance possible and to simply “stay afloat” in the fast-paced life of a teenager. Some students are better than others at balancing, but senior Ronan Brew is a different breed.

Brew is now one of the eight finalists in the state remaining in the race for the Minnesota State High School League Triple A Award. The Triple A Award recognizes and honors high school seniors who have excelled in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in the fine arts. Brew is the captain of the speech, mock trial, and soccer teams at BSM, all staying on top of his school work and maintaining a high GPA. “I invest the majority of my time in these activities, so it feels good to be nominated for this award,” Brew said.

The focus of this award is to highlight these students who take the time to balance their schedules to be as involved in their school as possible while also elevating academic standards and greater awareness of MSHSL sponsored activities. With soccer taking up the majority of his time in the school year, Brew still takes time to focus on mock trial, speech, and school.

Through the lengthy and tedious application process, Brew was required to reflect on his high school journey as a whole, filling out specific activities and accomplishments he has made on the way to this great award. “Ms. O’Keefe gave me an application form because she thought I would be a decent nominee for this award, but I didn’t really expect to win the section,” said Brew.

Brew was pleasantly surprised by the fact that his nomination passed the section and was selected for the state. Only eight finalists are selected to participate from class AA, and although BSM has two students from the school apply each year, only had four Red Knights have won the section, with Eric Wilson winning the whole thing back in 2017. “It is very hard, we have only had four section winners in the history of this event,” Ms. Mary Fran O’Keefe said

When the decision is made at the state level, the finalists for the AA and A levels usually attend a banquet where the top two winners are awarded a 4-year, $1,000 scholarship. This year, however, it is unclear how the winners will be announced as measures taken to slow the spread of coronavirus have resulted in the cancellation of this year’s banquet.