Discus Awards

Discus Award winner Jasper Arneberg, or as we call him "Jasper the Juggler" (he doesn't know that yet), performed with friends at a talent show. What happened next is quite possibly the greatest weather forecast I've ever seen.  Sure, the storm front coming through seems to be quickly replaced with a forecast for bright sunshine, but really, weatherman seem to be wrong half the time anyway.  However, Jasper and his group deliver the forecast with style and flair unmatched by any weather report. Ever.  Enjoy this folks, we may never see a weather report quite like this again.

Filed under: Discus Dan • All-Around High School Students • Discus Award Winner Video of the Day

Over twenty-seven million people suffer from modern day slavery, this includes over two-hundred thousand child slaves in just western to central Africa. On Ghana’s Lake Volta live seven thousand of those children. Slaves as young as four years old are malnourished and forced to work seventeen hours daily. Hearing of their plight, I had the responsibility to act. I was given the opportunity to visit Lake Volta and help rescue eight young boys from a life of bondage and enter into a life of freedom. These statistics compelled me to action, but seeing lives treated as property ignited a passion that would not be forgotten.

Jesus tells us faith without work is dead, and I believe God provides us opportunities to live out this call. My call was Ghana Rock, a night of praise and worship to bring funds and awareness of the child slavery epidemic on Lake Volta. It started as a question, “Can a sixteen year old with no experience, plan and organize a concert from start to finish to end child slavery?” Together with a team of eight teenagers and God’s constant faithfulness, the answer was clearly, “Yes!” The event was an enormous success; we were able to raise over forty-thousand dollars, bring three nationally recognized Christian artists, and unite the community for a common cause.

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Filed under: Madison Vincent • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Discus Winner

If you guys have been following the news out of Silicon Valley about "The Facebook", you may have noticed the IPO has been a bit of a dud so far.  Some may say in a new world being disrupted by technology, we've discovered there's no substitute for social networking in person.

In another win for the traditionalists out there, Discus Award winner Karl Segletes has proven that a good old fashioned photograph of nature can't be topped, no matter what Instagram filter you use.  During a recent trip to Alaska, Karl fired off this snapshot of the beautiful, all-natural landscape.  Score one for the true artists out there!

Filed under: Discus Dan • All-Around High School Students • Discus Award Winner Picture of the Day

Today, we celebrate the Don Drapers of the world, or the Leo Burnetts of the real world (no, not the MTV reality show), with an advertising campaign that should have been, created by Discus Award winner Mitchell Herrmann for his television production class.  Clearly evidenced by this fantastically-done spot, Mitchell has a career in advertising in his future if he chooses to pursue it.  Watch Mitchell's 50-second film noir Dr. Pepper commercial below.  Oh, and Dr. Pepper, on Mitchell's behalf, we say "you're welcome".

Filed under: Discus Dan • All-Around High School Students • Discus Award Winner Video of the Day

Discus Award winner Emily Smith excels in academics, athletics, and community service, but it is her artistic ability that is the focus of today's Winner Picture of the Day.

As the seasons change, we leave it to the talent of Ms. Smith to capture that transformation. She brings us up-close-and-personal with nature's beauty by combining her photography skills and digital editing savvy to capture morning dew on leaves in this black and white gem.

Filed under: Discus Dan • All-Around High School Students • Discus Award Winner Picture of the Day