Ryli Kuhnhenn has been an active member of her community through extensive volunteering for many of the organizations in the area.

Ryli Kuhnhenn, daughter of Mandy and Ben Kuhnenn, will be walking across the commencement stage on Sunday, May 26, as part of the Rugby High School graduating class of 2024.

The graduation ceremony will be at 2 p.m. in the Charlie Hanneman Gymnasium at Rugby High School.

Kuhnhenn has been an active member of her community through extensive volunteering for many of the organizations in the area.

School organizations Kuhnhenn has been involved with include speech, where she placed fourth place at the state level in poetry, one act, Science Olympiad, Academic Olympics, Panther Ambassadors, concert band and choir. In the community she has been part of productions with the Village Arts as well as events with Prairie Village Museum, Rugby Chamber of Commerce and Rugby Jaycees.

Kuhnhenn said volunteerism was instilled in her from a young age as her parents would often bring her along to events.

“There’s a lot of very great organizations in this community and what I’ve discovered is these things wouldn’t be able to run if it wasn’t for volunteers so getting myself involved ensures there’s a higher likelihood of these things sticking around for years to come,” she said.

This fall she is moving to Fargo to attend North Dakota State University to earn a degree in family and consumer sciences education and a dual minor in strategic communications and theater arts. She plans to join the Gold Star Marching Band, the choir and concert band.

Kuhnhenn has also been heavily involved in the local Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter. She was Rugby FCCLA’s first chapter president and became the state FCCLA vice president.

“I feel like one of my big marks in high school, one of the things I’m most proud of, is my involvement and growth in FCCLA and seeing this program get its start and start to thrive in Rugby,” she said.

She said one of the aspects she enjoys about being part of a smaller chapter is she isn’t limited to what she can do. As part of FCCLA she has taken part in volunteer opportunities, attended and coordinated local chapter events and has competed at district, state and national events.

Kuhnhenn was also crowned Miss Minot in October by the Miss North Dakota Scholarship Organization and in June she will be competing in Williston at the Miss North Dakota Scholarship Pageant.

“I get to meet some amazing young women from all across the state so the sisterhood and the service aspects of the pageant are what really appeal to me,” she said.

Kuhnhenn said the COVID-19 lockdown affected her class’s transition from junior high to high school and that she feels like she shouldn’t be done with school yet.

She said she is going to miss her classmates, but especially the small group of graduating seniors in the concert band. She said playing with this group over the last seven has created a strong bond.

She said being involved in many different organizations has shaped her into the person she is. “Your public speaking ability, your ability to network with others and meet other people – learning how to present yourself professionally and talk in front of people, talking in an interview setting – all of these life skills are worked into many of these extracurriculars and community opportunities. These are skills that will really be helpful when entering the workforce or going off to college,” she said.

Above all, Kuhnhenn is thankful for the community that supports all of the opportunities she’s been able to take advantage of over the years. “I’ve just had a lot of experiences in high school that I’m very thankful for and I really attribute that to the support of the Rugby community. They’re just always supportive of everything that’s going on and I’m glad I’ve been able to be a part of some of these organizations and I really hope they stick around for years to come because they are very valuable attributes of this community,” she said.

The graduates are: Tressa Arnston, Jaley Barclay, Brooklyn Bartsch, Riley Bonebrake, Jackson Brossart, Landyn Brossart, Kason Connot, Brooklyn Corum, Madison Corum, Gunner Deane, Kaedyn DeMontigny, Rylee Geiszler, Trista Hamilton, Logan Harmel, Rylan Hildenbrand, Hudson Hjelden, Maya Islas, Ella Jacobson, Haylee Jundt, Connor Klein, Ryli Kuhnhenn, Haley Mayer, Madison Mercer, Micah Musser, Sophia Oppen, Tyler Oppen, Taylor Pritschet, Lindy Radomski, Josiah Reimche, Treyton Ressler, Austin Schneibel, Alexis Schwalbe, Amelia Shepard, Hailey Solem, Jack Swanson, Heidi Voeller, Cy Walker and Lauren Westphal.