School: Neillsville - Cloverbelt Conference Scholars (2022)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Gurney, Swita. Anderson, Ruskin, Bernhagen, Kren

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 4/27/2022

Gurney, Swita Named Cloverbelt Conference Scholars (2022)

Two Neillsville High School seniors have been recognized for outstanding academic achievement. Morgan Gurney and Eastan Swita have been named Cloverbelt Conference Scholars and were honored at a banquet in Spencer April 13.

Each Cloverbelt Conference school selects two students to be honored based on certain criteria that nominees must meet, but the process is determined by each high school’s administration.

“I review the transcripts of the school’s top seniors and selects two deserving students to represent our high school,” Neillsville High School Principal Craig Anderson Ruskin explained.

“Eastan and Morgan are very deserving students to receive this honor. Both of them are outstanding individuals that have excelled in and out of the classroom. They both have chosen to take very rigorous coursework, which has included college-level material. I am confident that both of them will go on to be very successful adults and continue their display of excellence. I am very proud of what they have both accomplished in their times as students at Neillsville.”

Morgan Gurney



Morgan Gurney is one of Neillsville High School’s Cloverbelt Conference Scholars. She joined the rest of the scholars from around the conference in a recognition banquet April 13. Submitted photo

Morgan is the daughter of Jim and Kristy Gurney and Pete and Kim Winistorfer. Her academic achievements include the Straight ‘A’ Honor Roll and Spanish Honors.

Morgan’s school activities include softball, track and field, Spanish Club, student council, solo and ensemble and serving as yearbook editor.

“Neillsville High School has provided me with countless opportunities to grow as an individual. I have been provided numerous options of rigorous classes to ensure that I get the highest education possible. I am always looking to learn new things and my school has allowed me to successfully do this,” Gurney wrote in an email.

As a part of being a Cloverbelt Conference Scholar, students have the chance to name an “Honored Educator” whose name appears in the banquet program. Morgan selected history teacher Jesse Bernhagen.

“Mr. Bernhagen has done an amazing job not only being an educator, but a great role model to the high school students. He has gone above and beyond to support me and other classmates all throughout high school. [He] does an amazing job getting the students engaged with thee material of his classes. He tries his best to make the content as fun as it can be. He always goes the extra mile to ensure kids understand the material,” Morgan wrote.

Morgan plans to attend UW-Stevens Point this fall to major in education with a minor in chemistry.

“I hope to one day make a difference in the lives of others just like how my teachers have made a difference in mine,” Gurney wrote.

Eastan Swita



Eastan Swita had been named a Cloverbelt Conference Scholar for Neillsville High School.
He was honored at an April 13 banquet in Spencer. Submitted photo

Eastan is the son of Scott and Kim Swita. His academic accomplishments include making the Straight ‘A’ Honor Roll and being accepted and committed to UW-Platteville for civil engineering.

Eastan has participated in several extracurricular activities, including Skills USA, downhill ski club and coaching flag football. He was named Junior Kiwanian of the Month by the Neillsville Kiwanis Club.

Eastan said his commitment to academic success has provided opportunities for growth.

“It has allowed me to take college courses in high school, so I can become a more knowledgeable person and save money. My success also pushes me to take on harder challenges and not be afraid of hard tasks,” he wrote.

Eastan chose technology education teacher Adam Kren as his honored educator.

“I nominate this teacher because he taught me the importance of hard work and dedication when taking his classes. He showed me to put in the hard work every day and realize in the end that it’s all worth it. Mr. Kren also taught me the importance of respect toward others and to treat people how you want to be treated,” Eastan wrote.

Eastan is looking forward to studying civil engineering as he enters college.

“I hope to progress [in] this major and make a career out of it.”

More about scholar selection

The school district has to narrow down the pool of high-performing students to just two Cloverbelt Conference Scholars, but there are many worthy candidates, said Anderson Ruskin.

“It can be a very difficult process to come up with so few nominees as we are blessed to have some really high caliber students and student athletes at Neillsville where many would be more than deserving,” Anderson Ruskin noted.