Sandpoint Elks Lodge No. 1376 has announced students of the month for the past few months for the Lake Pend Oreille School District.

To be selected as an Elks student of the month, students must meet guidelines for character, citizenship, service, scholarship and leadership.

The Elks actively seek to reward youth through many different programs including scholarship awards, Hoop Shoot tournaments, dictionary donations to third graders, drug awareness programs and many other activities and programs.

Sandpoint Elks Lodge award thousands of dollars in scholarships and local students also received an additional money in state and national Elk scholarships. The Elks are the third largest awarder of scholarships in the county and several students have received large scholarships from the state and national level of Elks.

Selected for the honor are: Lydia Selph and Dante Kemink, Clark Fork High School; Yona Soltis, Darren Bailey, Matthew Waggoner, Taylor Sadewic, Sabrina Wilson, and Ketil Lund Andersen, Sandpoint High School; and Saedey Christy, Lake Pend Oreille High School.

Lydia Selph

A student at Clark Fork High School, Lydia Selph, was named an Elks student of the month for March.

Selph has always shown dedication to her academics and the community within Clark Fork High School maintaining a 3.2 GPA throughout, and encouraging other students to succeed through her tutoring in mathematics, English, and the sciences.

She has also shown to be a commendable leader through her participation on the leadership team where she has contributed to the organizing and running of events such as the elementary track meet, the alumni tournament, school spirit events, and various fundraisers. In conjunction with the leadership team involvement she independently organized the production of the schools' talent show two years in a row.

Additionally, in her junior year of high school, Lydia, through hard work and dedication, earned a scholarship award to travel abroad for a full academic year. This experience was cut short, yet Lydia made up all of the learning and work required to regain her footing at Clark Fork High School in a few short, intensive months. The very same year, Lydia also began attending dual credit classes, and is now in her third semester of college as a high school senior. 

Dante Kemink:

The son of Phil and Teresa Kemink was named Elks student of the month for March at Clark Fork High School.

He is a dual-credit senior and is enrolled full-time in the diesel mechanics program at North Idaho College. He loves fixing trucks and has bought and sold five during his high school career.

His interests include snowboarding, skiing, fishing, and wakesurfing.

Kemink has been a Fuel Up To Play 60 ambassador and has attended summits across the U.S. He was the recipient of an Innovation Challenge through the program in which he received money for the Clark Fork School to support healthy eating.

He was a member of Welding Club and enjoys welding. Clark Fork's Tech track program got him interested in building and fabrication such as electric skateboards, skis for a 4-wheeler and welding a bumper.

Kemink has a 3.2 GPA.

Christy Saedey

Christy Saedy was named an Elks student of the month at Lake Pend Oreille High School for her achievements, academic dedication and school involvement.

Katherine Mellander

The daughter of Ann and Lars Mellander, Katherine Mellander was named an Elks student of the month for February.

Katherine has been academically motivated from a very early age, putting long hours into her schoolwork. She has also studied classical ballet from the age of 3 and has performed in many "Nutcracker" shows, dance competitions and local recitals. She will continue pursuing her love of dance in college, as well as getting her bachelor's degree in architecture.

Some of her achievements include receiving high scores on AP exams and the SAT, as well as high placings, including first and third, at many dance competitions. She is the oldest of four children and a huge help to her parents, as well as being involved in her young women’s ministry.

Katherine is ranked seventh in her class with a weighted GPA of 4.36.

She has not yet decided on which college she will attend but has been accepted into the architecture program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, University of Arizona, and University of Idaho.

Yona Elizabeth Soltis

The daughter of Ryan Soltis and Ffion Soltis, Yona is a senior at Sandpoint High School. She was named Elks student of the month for March.

She is in three clubs, the Drama Club, the Human Rights Club and Interact, and is also the president of the Drama Club and co-vice president of Interact.

She enjoys walking, reading, and writing fan fiction stories. The biggest achievement for Yona was being awarded The Champion of Kindness award and being recognized in front of the whole school for holding open the door and greeting all students as they entered SHS, during her freshman through junior year.

She has a GPA of 2.7, and plans on attending North Idaho College in the fall for her associate's degree in political science and pre-law.

Taylor Sadewic

The daughter of Craig and Michelle Sadewic, Taylor Sadewic was named an Elks student of the month for April.

A graduating senior from Sandpoint High School, Taylor has grown up in Sandpoint and loves spending her free time doing anything outside including hiking, and riding horses. In the winter she spends her time on the mountain, skiing and snowshoeing and in the summer spends time on the lake or traveling.

Taylor has been involved in horse 4-H for the last 10 years, a member of the high school symphonic band, and enjoyed working in the life skills classroom.

With a 4.276 GPA and ranked 11th in her class Taylor is excited to continue her education at the University of Montana in the Davidson Honors College, where she will be pursuing a bachelor's degree in communication sciences and disorders and then a masters in speech pathology. Taylor hopes to one day work with children on the autism spectrum.

Taylor is excited to participate in UM's year abroad programs and would also like to join the Peace Corps before she obtains her master's degree.

Sabrina Wilson

The daughter of Belinda and Todd Wilson, Sabrina Wilson is currently a senior at SHS.

Named an Elks student of the month for May, Sabrina has been an honor roll student throughout her four years and has competed on the varsity swim team for all four years.

She is currently ranked ninth in her class with a weighted GPA of 4.330. Sabrina was involved with the SHS yearbook program as the photography editor for two years and now continues her love for photography as her own small business.

She also has been involved with the pre-AP and AP English programs at SHS all four years.

Sabrina has been admitted to Boise State University for the fall semester of 2021 and has also been accepted into the Boise Honors College program. At Boise, she will begin her post-secondary studies with a major in psychology.