Shannon Holtrop moved to Hartland when she was in second grade and attended Merton in elementary school. She says her elementary and middle school experience was good and that her transition to Arrowhead was easy.

She says, “I would say I liked high school better than middle school. The majority of my classes were honors or AP classes, so I had a lot of the same people in my classes, which probably made the transition easier.”

While she attended high school, Crocs and skinny jeans were popular, she says.

Holtrop says, “Most of my friends were through track/cross country, band, or from having multiple classes together.”

If Holtrop had to compare her high school experience to those shown in movies, she says her experience was “a lot less dramatic than the movies.”

Holtrop received very good grades in high school, and ended up attending UW-Madison and the Indiana School of Medicine.

She says, “[High school grades] were very important to me. It definitely helped me get into a good college.”

Two teachers that still teach at Arrowhead that Holtrop had were band teacher Jake Polancich and science teacher John Mesenbrink. She says, her favorite was Steve Urban. She says, “They were great math teachers, who loved what they did. They cared about the success of their students, and were great at what they taught.”

She feels Arrowhead prepared her very well for college. She says, “Going into college with multiple AP credits prepared me for college and helped me graduate early.”

Holtrop participated in soccer, track, cross country, and intramural basketball at Arrowhead. She says she feels “sports at Arrowhead are very political,” but she “enjoyed being a part of a team, improving my health, and working to become a better athlete.”

Holtrop still enjoys running in her free time.

She does not think high school was the best four years of her life. She says, “High school was great, but college was much better. I could focus, and actually study the subjects I really enjoyed in college.”

Holtrop keeps in contact with her closest friends from Arrowhead, however she no longer lives in the area.

Holtrop says this to current high schoolers at Arrowhead: “Stay focused and work hard, but also take the time to enjoy it with friends.”