$1,000 Chamber Scholarship
Erik Olson, 18
1420 - 81st Street
Victoria, MN 55386
Graduate of Chaska High School.
Parents.  Ken, a piano tunor, and Lynn, who sets up Ken's work.
Plans.  Studying Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
#1) Best high school teacher(s).  "I had many great teachers at Chaska High School.  Chris Commers, Social Studies; Jim Lund, Science; Chris Lenius, Science; Pat Ames, Computer Science.
"Mr. Commers teaches history and government classes.  I learned a lot about American politics and became more inter-ested in current events.  Mr. Commers helped me learn to think objectively about many issues
"Mr. Lund teaches physics and was also one of my coaches for Science Olympiad.  He made physics exciting for me and other students and encouraged me to do Science Olympiad.
"Mr. Lenius teaches chemistry and was my coach for Knowledge Bowl and Quiz Bowl.  While I'm not a 'chemistry' person, Mr. Lenius taught me a lot of chemistry and was a very good coach for the academic teams.
"Mr. Ames teaches Cisco Network Academy.  I learned a lot in Cisco class, and Mr. Ames is an interesting person to talk to"
#2) Excited/nervous about college.  "I'm excited to be living away from home.  I don't see myself having prob-lems with being away from home for ex-tended periods.  I'm nervous about the difficulty of work in college.  I've taken Advanced Placement classes in high school, but I expect college to be more difficult yet."
#3) Envision life at 30.  "I would like to have a steady job, designing systems for the automotive aftermarket.  I would like to live on the west coast, probably in California.  Last summer I was in Califor-nia for a church trip, and I liked the weather, places, and the people."
#4) A million dollar gift.  "I would buy a 1991 Honda CRX Si.  I'd swap in an Integra GSR engine, upgrade the internals, turbocharge it, and buy some other performance parts.  I'd also buy new computer parts.  I'd start giving more to my church.  The rest would go in the bank for college and savings."
#5) To young children.  "Young children should be careful of the people they associate with.  A person's friends play a big part in determining who they are."
#6) Learned in high school.  "Having a strong group of supportive friends makes high school a lot easier.  Being in-volved in activities in high school makes it easier to find friends with the same interests as you."
#7) Your best qualities.  "A willing-ness to learn new things.  A willingness to look at things from many perspectives."
#8) What others would say.  "Some people think I'm funny.  Some probably think I'm smart."
#9) Your parents.  "My parents have taught me about responsibility and courtesy.  I admire my mom's persistence and helpfulness and my dad's cooking ability."
#10) Impressive people.  "Chuck Yeager.  Chuck Yeager was able to go from being a kid in a small town in West Virginia to being one of the most respect-ed pilots in the country."

$1,000 Chamber Scholarship
Ben Wiggins, 18
8521 Allegheny Grove Blvd.
Victoria, MN 55386
Graduate of Chaska High School.
Parents.  Bradley, Director, Client Services-Automatic Data Processing, and Catherine, homemaker.
Plans.  Hamline University, MN.  Psychology.
#1) Best high school teacher(s).  "I have had many great teachers in my time at Chaska, but two of them really inspired me.  The first was my Honors English teacher, Tom Finnegan.  His class made me become an avid reader, and his years of wisdom gave me countless lessons in life that I won't soon forget.
"The other teacher who really made a difference in my life was Mr. Powell, my psychology and philosophy teacher.  In those two classes I learned more about life than in the previous years of school com-bined.  His classes opened me up to many new ideas, and I enjoyed psychology so much that I'm going to major in it next year at Hamline University."
#2) Excited/nervous about college.  "I'm very excited about moving into a large city.  I've always loved how much the city has to offer, and it should be great to have the chance to experience it every day.  The only thing I'm nervous about is living with a roomate."
#3) Envision life at 30.  "I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with my life yet, but by the time I'm 30 I hope that I'm doing something that makes a positive impact on the world."
#4) A million dollar gift.  "Enjoy my life."
#5) To young children.  "I would tell young children to not be corrupted by all of the people telling them how they should act and who they should be.  Kids these days need to do a lot more thinking for themselves."
#6) Learned in high school.  "Be an individual, because everyone respects a person who leads instead of follows."
#7) Your best qualities.  "I'm an honest individual who watches out for other people.  I'm also a very loyal friend."
#8) What others would say.  "I think that others respect the fact that I treat them like I want to be treated."
#9) Your parents.  "I think that my dad has taught me how far hard work will get you, and that my mom has taught me how to care for people because she is one of the most genuinely caring people I know."
#10) Impressive people.  "DaVinci, because I've never heard of another person creating and enriching his or her life more than he did.  George Harrison, because he seemed to be one of the most fulfilled and at peace persons to ever grace this earth, plus he also wrote one of the most beautiful songs in the history of modern music, "Here Comes the Sun."

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