Nicolet National Bank Senior Spotlight: Chris VanderWielen
School: Luxemburg-Casco High
Sports: Football, baseball
What are your parents’ names?
My mother’s name is Michelle Smith, my dad’s name is Pete VanderWielen, and my stepdad’s name is Chad Smith.
What does post-graduation look like for you at this point?
After graduation I plan on attending the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to study civil engineering.
This past football season you played wide receiver after spending most of your career at running back. What was the transition like?
The transition from running back to wide receiver wasn’t all that challenging as I had played wide receiver my freshman year and had remembered most of the key concepts of the position. From a teammate’s perspective, I just wanted to do what was best for the team in order to give us the best chance to win and if that meant switching positions I was all for it.
What is the Rising Phoenix program and how has it, and other academic programs at L-C, helped you prepare for your future?
The Rising Phoenix program is a program that allows students to get a head start on college as it gives a person the ability to take college classes and even a chance at earning an associate’s degree all before the end of high school at a reduced cost. I have been very fortunate as this program has helped me very much as I will be earning my associate’s degree this spring and will have also completed all of my general education classes and will not have to take them when I get to college next year. I will in fact be entering college with 62 college credits which equates to two whole years of college that I will have completed already. As for other academic programs within the Luxemburg-Casco School District, I may not have participated myself but I have seen great outcomes for my fellow students. Our youth apprenticeship for example allows kids to start working during school to allow them to gain a perspective of what they might want to do for the rest of their lives but also allows them to earn high school credit and be paid.
What was going through your mind when you stepped onto the field at Camp Randall Stadium in uniform to compete for the state championship a few months ago?
Stepping on the field at Camp Randall with my brothers will be one of if not the best memories I have of football. Although the outcome wasn’t what we had wanted, I wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything as it was amazing to fulfill our goal and dream as a team of being the best team in our high school’s history. I remember feeling the excitement and energy from our fans and seeing the look of happiness and excitement on my teammate’s faces as we walked out of the tunnel and I remember it as one of the best feelings I have ever had.
You’ve had to battle through multiple surgeries. What is it like trying to come back from those to compete with your teammates?
Although I have had bad luck with staying healthy during sports and ending up having to have multiple surgeries I look forward to competing again and being able to enjoy sports. Recovery can be hard as you miss out on a lot of things that you had previously been able to do, especially watching your team from the sidelines and not being able to have an impact on the game sucks. But recovery has been good thus far and I am optimistic about being able to play and play well this upcoming season with my teammates.
After missing last baseball season, how excited are you to get onto the diamond this spring and finish your stint as an L-C athlete? What do your goals for this baseball season look like?
This upcoming season has me very excited as I finally will get to be able to step back onto the diamond and play a game that I love with some of my best friends. I look forward to finishing out my baseball career and high school sports career alongside the kids that I have been playing ball with since kindergarten. As for the goals for this upcoming season, I plan on having as much fun as possible while hopefully being able to play at a high level like I have in the past and to just keep building as a player and as a person.