by Cori Hilsgen
news@thenewsleaders.com
Marisa Gaetz, daughter of Rick and Rose Gaetz of St. Joseph, was recently named as one of the two winners of the Times Media’s annual “2 Under 20” award.
The award recognizes achievements of young leaders who could help shape the future of Central Minnesota.
Gaetz attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located in Cambridge, Mass. She graduated from St. John’s Preparatory School, Collegeville, in 2016. Her Prep School physics teacher, Charles Miller, nominated her for the “2 Under 20” honor.
Miller has been teaching for 20 years, 12 of those at St. John’s Prep. He teaches physics, International Baccalaureate physics, environmental science and theory-of-knowledge classes. He is also the head coach for the Knowledge Bowl teams at the middle-school and high-school levels. In addition, he is assistant coach for the girls’ and boys’ tennis teams.
Miller, who knew Gaetz throughout her six years at St. John’s Prep, said he nominated her because the award was meant for people “who display community leadership and the ability to shape Central Minnesota’s future,” and he said Gaetz exemplifies that.
Gaetz said she was really honored to have been chosen as one of the recipients of the award. She said it was easier to feel connected to home while she was living, learning and working there, so she is especially grateful to have received this award after spending her first semester away from home at school at MIT.
Gaetz said it means so much to have the continued support of her home, and this has renewed her inspiration to work toward growing and paying back the area where she came from.
Although she won’t officially declare her major or minor until the end of her freshman year, Gaetz is planning to declare a pure-mathematics major and a computer-science minor. She is thinking of concentrating in either economics or philosophy.
“I don’t really have any set-in-stone career goals, but I am passionate about researching, teaching and/or applying high-level mathematics, so I hope to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics,” Gaetz said. “This could lead me to a variety of career opportunities, such as academia or finance.”
She compared some of the differences between St. Joseph and Cambridge, Mass., including that the Cambridge/Boston area is much more densely populated. Gaetz said a large portion of the population consists of young, passionate and very talented students attending places such as MIT, Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Mass., and Tufts University, located in Medford, Mass. Many of these students are involved in high-level research and start-up companies.
“As a result, there is a lot of young energy and technological innovation,” she said.
Gaetz said the area is very inspiring and exciting to be a part of, but it can also be overwhelming. St. Joseph is a much smaller and more close-knit area that is inspiring because of so much support by people in the area. She said she is grateful to have the chance to be connected to both areas. However, she does miss the feeling of being around people she has known for almost her entire life.
“There’s something really special about relationships that have been growing and evolving for such a long time and about the ability to run into old friends as you go through your daily life,” Gaetz said. “Although it’s nice to have a completely fresh start here, it would take a long time to build relationships as strong and long-lasting as ones I’ve made in the St. Joseph area.”
During her years at St. John’s Prep, Gaetz was involved in a variety of activities and interests, including soccer, softball, state Knowledge Bowl (her team was the state champion), Science Bowl, played percussion in the Prep school concert band, jazz band and prep band, started a ping-pong club, Math Club, Prep Post Newspaper, National Honor Society, She’s the First and Chinese Club. She studied Chinese and traveled to China twice while in high school. Her favorite subjects were mathematics and physics.
Gaetz was honored with the other recipients of the 11th annual “Under 20” and “Under 40” awards for 2016 by the Times Media on Jan. 24, at the Paramount Center for the Arts in St. Cloud. The other honoree in the “2 Under 20” category is Josh Maricle-Roberts, Sartell, a senior at Apollo High School.
The five honorees for the “5 Under 40” category are Bryan Burns, Kate Hanson, Emily Coborn, Ryan Gerads and Hudda Ibrahim.
The “Under” awards are given yearly to those who consistently demonstrate leadership, innovation and community service. They are sponsored by (St. Cloud) Times Media with support from Falcon National Bank, Health Partners Central Minnesota and the Initiative Foundation.
Marisa Gaetz, daughter of Rick and Rose Gaetz of St. Joseph, was recently named as one of the two winners of the St. Cloud Times’ annual “2 Under 20” award. Gaetz, who attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated from St. John’s Preparatory School in 2016, was nominated by St. John’s Prep physics teacher Charles Miller.
Marisa Gaetz (left) and St. John’s Prep teacher Charles Miller are pictured after Gaetz’s St. John’s Prep team won state in the Knowledge Bowl competition. Miller recently nominated Gaetz for, and she was chosen as one of two winners, of the St. Cloud Times’ annual “2 Under 20” award. The award recognizes achievements of young leaders who could help shape the future of Central Minnesota.
