Join us as we congratulate the 2018 Lakeview Legacy Award Recipients!
Lauren Davis
Alyssa Ettl Legacy Award.
The 2018 Alyssa Ettl Legacy Award recipient, Lauren Davis, not only continues a tradition of exceptional Lakeville high school seniors recognized for the award, but in fact, raises the bar for future recipients.
For starters, she is an exceptional student, with a cumulative GPA of 4.37 and a class rank of third among 462 Lakeville North High School students. She was inducted into the National Honor Society in the spring of her sophomore year, and after twelve Advanced Placement and six Honors courses earned the designation of AP Scholar with Distinction.
If Lauren was solely focused on her studies that kind of academic achievement might be expected. But, Lauren’s interests extend far beyond the halls of Lakeville North High School.
With a lifelong passion for music, she is rank captain and section leader in the LNHS marching, jazz, and pep bands on both saxophone and snare drum. She is treasurer of the Student Council, a Senior Class Officer, and captain of the speech team, where she is ranked as one of the top ten speakers in the Original Oratory category in Minnesota. She volunteers at school blood drives, school-led trips to Feed My Starving Children, and at local elementary school Kindness retreats.
But it isn’t just her school that benefits from her talent, passion, and leadership skills. The last three years she has volunteered in the Pediatrics Unit at Fairview Ridges Hospital and through the hospital’s Healing Music program, where she employs her musical ability by playing piano in the hospital’s lobby to create a calm, welcoming atmosphere for both patients and visitors. Last summer she was named Miss Lakeville during the city’s Pan-O-Prog celebration and has represented the city at many events across the state including the Minneapolis Aquatennial, St. Paul Winter Carnival, and the Minnesota State Fair.
Sparked by both her experience at Fairview Ridges Hospital and her own inquisitiveness into the nature of diseases, this fall she will pursue a Bioengineering degree at the Calhoun Honors College at Clemson University in South Carolina.
Haeley Keilen
High School Senior
As the oldest of five children in a single parent household, Haeley Keilen is expected to fulfill many responsibilities of a parent—working multiple jobs, helping her siblings with their homework, and driving them to their activities, all of which consume important time from her own academic workload.
Under those circumstances it would not be a surprise to anyone if Haeley did nothing more than maintain average grades and looked out for herself; most, in fact, would consider it commendable.
Fortunately for her family, her school, and her community, however, Haeley expects much more from herself. Through the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program she has prepared herself for college, enrolling in six honors, three PSEO, and six Advanced Placement courses while earning a 3.96 cumulative GPA, a 26 composite score on the ACT, the AP Scholar Award in 2017 and, of course, National Honor Society membership.
She is or has been a participant in co-curricular activities including hockey and lacrosse, and is a proven leader outside of the classroom, serving as President of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Co-President of Key Club, and a Leader of the Environment Club.
But it is Haeley’s deep faith in God that has led her to multiple other leadership opportunities and ultimately, perhaps, her career choice. She is a mentor in her school’s Campus Faith Club, but her favorite activities are through Young Life, a non-denominational Christian organization that helps middle and high school students, teen moms, and students with disabilities grow their faith in Jesus. She has attended Young Life camp five times, the most recent two years as a Capernaum Buddy where she is paired with a camper with disabilities, becoming their caretaker and best friend for a week.
Haeley’s experiences as a Capernaum Buddy have profoundly shaped her career objectives, and she discovered that her purpose in life is to help those with disabilities. To that end, she will enroll this fall at the University of Minnesota where she intends to pursue a degree in special education or occupational therapy.
Deb Marzahn
Citizen/Volunteer Legacy Award
To say that Deb Marzahn is an active volunteer is akin to saying that an ocean sunset is pretty. Both are accurate statements, but neither adequately conveys the depth or beauty behind the statement.
As if being married for 35 years, having three adult children, a four year old grandson, and helping to care for her 85 year old mother in law isn’t enough, Deb and her family over the years have hosted Rotary exchange students, missionaries, and other random people who have needed short term support to get through a rough period in their lives. For Deb, family has often included people without the last name of Marzahn.
Outside of helping others in her home, Deb’s community involvement is extensive. She has 15 years of volunteer experience in children and youth ministries at Crossroads Church in Lakeville, and for the last seven years has served on staff there, often sharing the pulpit with her husband, Paul. A five year Lakeville Police and Fire Chaplain veteran, she serves community members with care and compassion during difficult times in their lives, and recently also completed training as a volunteer Reserve Officer for the City of Lakeville. Her work with the police department has in turn led to her involvement with Dakota County’s mental health task force, assisting persons who have attempted suicide, suffered from rape and/or domestic abuse, or who struggle with chronic mental illness.
Deb’s compassion for those in need is further apparent in her support of 360 Communities and the B. Robert Lewis House shelter for abused women and children. Further, she is instrumental in Crossroad Church’s Community Cares grocery giveaway, which strives to feed the community while reducing food waste; since its inception, the program has assisted 15,000 people and serves an average of 350 people per month. Also at Crossroads, she works with a crisis center helping pregnant teens with health care, support, and if necessary, housing.
There is more to Deb Marzahn’s record of volunteerism than there is space here to describe. Suffice it to say that she is an inspiration to her family, her church, and her community, and perfectly epitomizes Lakeview Bank’s Citizen/Volunteer Legacy Award!
Kristina Murto and Steve Volovka
Business Owner Legacy Award
For 13 years, Kristina Murto and Steve Volavka have blended their creative talent through their co-ownership of Ensemble Creative & Marketing in downtown Lakeville, providing marketing, branding and design services to small and medium sized businesses. In the process, they have helped their clients grow in size, reputation, and awareness within their communities.
But, at the same time that they have blended their creative abilities through their business, they have also blended their personal passion for helping others; the result is an organization that delivers more than just dynamic advertising and marketing programs for its clients. Indeed, Kristina, Steve, and Ensemble Creative deliver encouragement, hope, and service to the community from which they derive their livelihood.
Kristina and Steve like to say that if an organization or individual needs help relating to puppies, battered women, or sick children, they are “all in” with their support. That’s why every year they host two annual events for their clients and friends—a summer social that annually generates between 700 to 1,100 pounds of food for local food shelves, and a winter party that over the years has collected hundreds of toys for Toys for Tots as well as scarves, mittens, hats, boots, and cash for residents of the B. Robert Lewis House. Through events like these, they share their creative gifts and encourage others to have an attitude of service to their communities.
Individually, Kristina and Steve have extensive records of service to the Lakeville Community. Kristina has served on the Boards of the Lakeville Area Art Center, Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Downtown Lakeville Business Association. In 2013 she was named a Dakota County Exceptional Business Woman and in 2017 was named Volunteer of the Year by the Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce. Both Kristina and Steve have served as mentors and volunteers for the Lakeville Schools Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA) since its inception in 2013. Steve is an active member of the Lakeville Rotary Club, where he has served on the Board since 2013, and since 2010 has also provided website and branding expertise to the Farmington Rotary Club for its annual Ramble Jam fundraising event.