If this was a traditional school year, the 17 summa cum laude students from the Brown County High School Class of 2020 would have been recognized with a dinner at the Artist Colony Inn and at commencement.
But instead, this year’s class walked across the stage individually, by appointments. Their walks will be compiled into a video that will be shared in June.
Starting with last year’s graduating class, Brown County High School no longer names a valedictorian or salutatorian. Instead, students can earn the tiered honors of cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude, as is done in college.
To be named summa cum laude, a student has to complete 48 credits in approved coursework; earn an Indiana academic honors or technical honors diploma; and earn a cumulative grade-point average of 4.0 or above.
Students are ranked for summa cum laude after completing seven semesters.
These are the biographies this year’s highest-honored graduates wrote for themselves.
1. Allison Stogsdill
Daughter of Lisa Wagler and Bill Stogsdill, Allison Stogsdill is ranked first in her class. Allison is the president of the 2020 class and the Interact Club. She is vice president of the History Club and captain of the varsity girls basketball team. Allison is also a member of National Honor Society, Science Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Dance Marathon, student council, Nashville Youth Council, Brown County Youth Leadership and the Hamblen Township Volunteer Fire Department. Allison has also played four years on the varsity girls basketball team, four years on the varsity softball team, three years on the varsity girls golf team and one year on the junior varsity volleyball team. Some of her athletic accomplishments include reaching 1,000 career points in basketball, being a regional qualifier for two consecutive years in golf, being a five-time All-Conference athlete, being recognized as one of the top 100 senior girls basketball players in the state and being named All-State honorable mention for basketball. Some of her academic accomplishments include being named academic All-State for golf and basketball, placing fist at the regional Voice of Democracy contest, placing second at the state Voice of Democracy contest and being awarded the Governor’s Work Ethic Certificate. She has worked at the Abe Martin Lodge as a lifeguard since her sophomore year. She participated in an eight-week internship working in an Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis laboratory researching Alzheimer’s Disease through the program Project STEM the summer following her sophomore year. She studied abroad in Spain for six weeks through IUHPFL the summer following her junior year. After high school, she will attend Hanover College where she will play basketball as well as golf and study neuroscience to later go to medical school and become a doctor.
2. Chloee Robison
Daughter of Catherine and Todd Copper, Chloee Robison is ranked second in her class. Chloee is the two-year president of Brown County High School’s National History Club chapter. She has been to the national competition for History Day four times and has been ranked in the top 30 in her category twice at nationals. She has volunteered for the Nashville Salvation Army since the sixth grade and has worked at the Brown County Public Library since her second semester of freshman year. After graduation, Chloee plans to study environmental or chemical engineering at Purdue University. She hopes to take her work abroad and help communities around the globe.
3. Emma Summers
Daughter of Troy and Mindy Summers, Emma Summers is ranked third in her class. Emma is the vice president of the National Honor Society. She is also a member of the Science National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, History Club, Interact Club and student council. Emma was recognized this year as an Indiana Regional Academic All-Star and an honorable mention National Merit Scholar. Emma has volunteered in her community as a tutor at Brown County Intermediate School as well as volunteering for fundraising and charity events such as Riley Children’s Hospital Dance Marathon, the Brown County Humane Society Chocolate Walk, Brown County YMCA Hilly Half, Glass Slipper and Brown County Parks and Recreation’s Daddy-Daughter Dance. Emma attends Pleasant Valley Church and is a member of YoungLife. Emma is a four-year starting varsity pitcher for the Brown County Eagles and was ranked by the Indianapolis Star as a top 10 Indiana recruiting prospect in the Class of 2020. She was three times team MVP, three times All-Conference, three times All-Area, two times All-State, Herald Times Softball Player of the Year, The Republic Athlete of the Week and Academic All-State. Emma was also nominated for the Gatorade Softball Player of the Year. Emma plays travel ball for Indiana Shockwaves-Perry based in McCordsville, Indiana, and is a four-time National Champion and Tournament MVP of the USA Elite Select World Series Championship in Viera, Florida. Emma will be attending Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, as a member of the Honors College where she will major in neuroscience on a pre-med track and play Division I softball for the Wright State Raiders. She one day hopes to attend medical school and become a cardiothoracic surgeon.
4. Kara Adams
Kara Adams is the daughter of Michelle Mosley and Kevin Adams. Kara is ranked fourth in her class. Kara is the president of National Honor Society, vice president of student council and Science Honor Society. She is also a member of the History Club and Robotics Club. When she is not studying for her AP Calculus exams, Kara is volunteering for Brown County Parks and Recreation. She will be attending Purdue University in the fall with plans to study biochemistry on a pre-med track. Kara is excited to discover the next breakthrough in medical research.
5. Faith Snyder
Faith Snyder is the daughter of James and Jill Farkas. She is ranked fifth in her class. She was in Treble Choir for two years and in Serenade for two years. She was in the National Honor Society, Student Council and was president of Anime Club. She volunteered at the Brown County Humane Society. She has worked at JayC Food Store since July 2017. Faith will attend Indiana University where she will major in computational linguistics with a concentration in cognitive science.
6. Sara Fishel
Sara Fishel is the daughter of Christie and David Fishel. She is ranked sixth in her class. Sara is the president of student council and Science Honor Society. She serves as a member of National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, History Club and Interact Club. Sara played tennis for one year and played softball for three years. Sara also did sports photography for the school yearbook for several years. In addition to the extracurriculars, Sara particularly enjoyed her math and science classes throughout high school with calculus as her favorite course over the past two years. Sara will continue her education at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. She looks forward to her experiences at the academy, especially the upcoming Army-Navy games, and hopes to major in mechanical engineering.
7. Avery Robertson
Avery Robertson is the son of Charles Robertson and Rachel Robertson. Avery is ranked eighth in his class and prefers to watch things that have to do with quantum particles and pollution on YouTube than participate in extracurriculars. He also has spent quite a bit of time working at construction sites around the county, even going so far as to venture into the uppity city of Bloomington. Ironically, Avery wouldn’t consider any other cities to attend college in other than Bloomington to hopefully get a degree in biochemistry.
8. Emma Beck
Emma Beck is the daughter of Jill and Corey Beck, sister to Ashlyn Beck. Emma has dedicated countless hours to the band program, not only at the high school, but junior high and intermediate school as well. She has dedicated herself to the marching band, wind ensemble, concert band, beginning band, percussion ensemble, drumline and teaching lessons to students within the school cooperation. She also integrates with the community through the Brown County Community Band and the Columbus City Band. Independently, she regularly received gold ratings at many ISSMA group ensembles and solos on a variety of instruments. She also directs and runs a small after-school band called the Brown County Legacy of which she is co-president. Although it seems the only thing she ever has time for is band, she managed to maintain above a 4.0 GPA, stayed on the honor roll and stayed in National Honor Society. She plans to attend Indiana Wesleyan University and study music education and become a high school band director in the future.
9. Caleb Doss
Caleb Doss is the son of Chad Doss and Lindsey Austin. He is ranked ninth in his class. He has worked at Freddy’s Frozen Custard since Halloween of 2017. He also started volunteering at the Brown County Music Center in August 2019. He has been involved in concert band since fifth grade and started show choir band and jazz band this year. Caleb is the graphics production manager at Eagle Manufacturing and has taken many of the engineering courses at Brown County High School. After high school, he will attend IUPUI, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. He would like to thank his family, his teachers, and all of his friends. He states: “I would not be the person I am today without the help of everyone in my life. Everyone has helped me to grow and inspired me to chase my goals and I would not change that for anything.”
10. Katie Trapp
Daughter of Cassie Shipley and Ernie Trapp, Katie Trapp is ranked 10th in her class. She has been a part of the varsity cheerleading team as a flyer for three years, and cheer captain for two of those years in high school. Katie has also participated in numerous bands including jazz band, marching band, show choir band, Legacy Band and pep band. She has been a part of National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Riley Dance Marathon, Gay-Straight Alliance as well as studying and living abroad in Mexico through a six-week program through Indiana University Honors Program of Foreign Languages to study Spanish. Throughout high school, she has volunteered within her community in many programs including the Brown County Hilly Half Marathon, Chocolate Walk, Glass Slipper, Mother’s Cupboard, Soup Kitchen and has helped tutor and teach students within her school. After school, she has taken music lessons and given music lessons to younger students as well as helped others as a leader in her cheer squad. She has attended the ISSMA contest for both band and choir, Show Choir Camps of America and has been a leader and competitive dancer in her show choir group Rhapsody as dance captain for two years. Outside of school, Katie has shadowed Dr. Jarron Lincoln at Franciscan Health and has earned her CPR license and worked as a lifeguard at the Abe Martin Lodge, cashier at the IGA and Chocolate Moose employee. She would like to thank her family for all of their support, especially her mother, Cassie Shipley, who has supported her as well as financially in whatever activity she has chosen to be a part of throughout her extracurricular career. She would also like to thank all of her teachers: Lauren Spiece, Jim McFall, Thom Miller, Eric Fohl, Emily Lewellen, Wendy Weddle and countless others for making extra efforts and pushing her to do her very best both inside and outside the classroom. Katie will attend Butler University in the fall to study health sciences as well as continue her language proficiency in Spanish. Unsure of her ending career goal, she hopes to help others in the medical field as either a dermatologist or physician’s assistant.
11. Cassidy Davis
Cassidy Davis is the daughter of Julie Logterman and Brad Davis. She is ranked 11th in her class. Cassidy is a three-year varsity member of the girls tennis team. She is a WIC All-Conference Athlete. She is president of Dance Marathon and a member of the leadership team for National Honor Society. Cassidy also participated in Spanish Honor Society, Interact Club, History Club, student council, Brown County Youth Leadership and Rotary Youth Leadership. Cassidy studied abroad in Mérida, Mexico over the summer through the Indiana University Honors Program in foreign language. Cassidy will attend Butler University where she will double-major in International Studies and Spanish.
12. Abigail Hollander
Abigail Hollander is the daughter of Nicole and Danny Hollander. Abigail is ranked 12th in her class. Abigail serves as the secretary for the senior class officers along with being the logistics leader of Brown County Dance Marathon. Abigail has been a three-sport athlete during her time at Brown County High School, having participated in volleyball, basketball, and track and field. In addition to the sports, Abigail is active in many clubs including National Honor Society, student council, Spanish Honor Society, History Club and Interact Club. In the past she has been a freshman, sophomore and junior class officer and a member of the recycling team. Abigail’s future plans include attending Ball State University to get a bachelor’s degree in nursing and working as a pediatric nurse.
13. Bella Hobbs
Daughter of Michelle and Adam Hobbs, Bella Hobbs is ranked 13th in her class. Bella has played four years as a member of the varsity girls soccer team and three years as sprinter and pole vaulter for the track and field team. She is also a member of the National Honor Society and student council. Bella has been passionate about all things artistic from a young age. By immersing herself in Brown County’s art studios and shops, she has developed an appreciation for design and the printed word. She has put these skills to work in the community and her school by volunteering to design advertising for Dance Marathon’s Winter Workshop, format pages for the Shadows yearbook as well as design and post weekly game times and season schedules for fall sports. Bella has also volunteered for the Eagle Classic, the Hilly Half, Mother’s Cupboard and works with Encounter Life Ministries in both children and youth ministries. In the fall, Bella will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in visual communication design and a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication at Indiana Wesleyan University as a member of the John Wesley Honors College.
14. Nicole Prosch
Nicole Prosch is the daughter of Steve and Suella Prosch. She is ranked 14th in her class. Nicole is the president of Brown County High School Bands and served as historian her junior year. She worked at Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls the summer before junior year and continues to volunteer there. She started working at the Abe Martin Lodge as a server and a host the summer before senior year. She has been involved in wind ensemble and jazz band since freshman year and marching band since sophomore year. She is also a member of National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, GSA, community band and Legacy Band. After high school, she will attend Purdue Fort Wayne, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music therapy.
15. Tanner Bowman
The only child of Mark and Robyn Bowman, Tanner is ranked 15th in the Class of 2020. He served as sales and production manager of Eagle Manufacturing for the last two years and a councilman on the Indiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council since his freshman year. He became the student founder of the high school’s History Club and served as its president his sophomore year. Tanner is a member of National Honor Society and served as team captain on the social studies and interdisciplinary academic bowl teams. He served on the TalonOnline Newspaper and Shadows Yearbook staffs since his sophomore year, as editor of both his senior year. Tanner is also an Eagle Scout, a 4-H member and state fair second-place winner in model craft, a graduate of Brown County Youth Leadership, and a back-to-back Voice of Democracy essay contest winner. He was awarded the Indiana Brilliant Firefly Award by the lieutenant governor, the Governor’s Work Ethic Certificate, and has been recognized in two Indiana concurrent resolutions for his work on the Youth Advisory Council. Prideful in his hometown, Tanner has volunteered hundreds of hours in and around Nashville with organizations such as the Brown County Music Center, the Brown County Playhouse, VFW Post 6195, Brown County State Park, Keep Brown County Beautiful, Mother’s Cupboard, the junior high We The People teams, Brown County Parks and Recreation, Brown County YMCA and St. Vincent DePaul. In addition to his extracurriculars and volunteer work, Tanner began work on earning his private pilot’s license in September 2018 and is expected to be licensed early this summer. He is also working toward his real estate broker’s license to join the family business. He has also worked at Sweetea’s Tea Shop, Lloyd Law Office, 7P Solutions and runs his own odd jobs/mowing business. Tanner will be attending Purdue University in the fall for professional flight technology and aviation management. He wants to return to Brown County to eventually raise a family of his own.
16. Aaron McCann
The youngest child of Cheri McCann and Vince McCann, Aaron McCann is ranked 16th in his class. Aaron has participated in four varsity sports throughout his high school career, playing tennis and basketball for four years and baseball and track for two years each. He was selected as All-Conference three times and All-Area two times. Outside of school he has worked at the Abe Martin Lodge as a waiter/host since the summer of his sophomore year and also is involved in his youth group at St. Agnes Church. After high school, he plans to attend Indiana University studying computer science and software development.
17. Myka Snyder
Daughter of Ronna and Steve Snyder, Myka Snyder is ranked 17th in her class. Myka is a senior class representative. She is also a member of National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Dance Marathon, Interact Club, History Club, student council and Brown County Youth Leadership. Myka has played two years as a member of the junior varsity and varsity volleyball team and four years as a member of the varsity softball team. She also managed the girls varsity basketball team for four years. She was a member of the high school band her freshman year. Snyder is a member of Connection Pointe Church in Trafalgar where she engages in the youth group, leadership team and praise team. She studied abroad in Spain for six weeks through Indiana University Honors program in foreign language the summer following her junior year. Her time abroad in Spain inspired her to continue her Spanish studies at the collegiate level. After high school, she will attend Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Illinois. She will play softball and study biology and Spanish to later go to dental school and become a general practice dentist. Myka is looking forward to opening her own practice and impacting the lives of her patients in the most positive way possible.
