Ryan Ladika/MDN Megan Zimmer (middle, holding ball) looks to pass the ball during the Honkers' state quarterfinal matchup against Wilton-Wing March 4 at the Minot State Dome.

To say Megan Zimmer made the most of her time in high school would be an understatement. Throughout her four-plus years at Kenmare High School, the senior had done just about everything there is to do and taken advantage of every opportunity that came her way.

Volleyball? Check. Basketball? Been there. Band and choir? Done that. Golf? You bet. She was also involved in drama, speech and her school’s FBLA, or Future Business Leaders of America, program.

According to the homepage of the FBLA webpage, the program “helps high school students prepare for careers in business through academic competitions, leadership development and educational programs.”

She was recognized for her tireless work ethic and wide-ranging skillsets April 29 when she was selected as one of the two recipients of the $1,000 Gelaine Orvik Scholarship. Fargo Davies High School’s Truman Werremeyer was the committee’s other selection.

From the North Dakota High School Coaches Association’s press release, the scholarship was established in 2008 when Lisbon High School Track & Field coach Joe Howell wanted to honor Orvik, a veteran coach of 35 years, by attaching his name to a scholarship.

There are four prerequisites for those interested in applying. The student must be a student-athlete graduating from a North Dakota High School with the intention of attending a North Dakota college or university, and the student must also intend on pursuing their hope or goal to become a coach themself.

Zimmer submitted an application at the behest of her volleyball coach, Tim Wallstrum. When she recently discovered she was selected, she could not believe her eyes.

“I’m pretty excited about it honestly,” she said with a laugh. “It’s a great honor and I wasn’t expecting to get it, so I’m happy and surprised.”

Zimmer will put her award to good use in her plans to attend North Dakota State University. She is unsure of what she will study, but knows she wants to pursue either architecture and engineering, and hopes to be able to follow in her father’s footsteps as a coach herself.

“I really love volleyball and I want to give that to the next generation as well,” she said. ” I really enjoyed it and I’d like to help them get better as well.”

Of all the activities she was involved in during her time with the Honkers, she claims volleyball as her favorite sport, and hopes to join a club team when she arrives at NDSU.

Wallstrum had high praise for the student he had taught and coached since her seventh-grade year and ultimately recommended for the scholarship.

“As a student, she has an outstanding ability to learn and achieve superior, well-deserved grades; as an athlete, she has earned numerous awards on and off the court, and her character is beyond compare,” he said in the press release. “She is a dependable, intelligent, hardworking and deserving person. Her demonstration of character, leadership and dependability are unparalleled.”

Zimmer’s desire to be the best at whatever she sets her heart on is behind the excellence that accompanies her many sports and extracurricular activities.

“It’s fun and I like to win, honestly,” she said. “That’s what pushes me to work as hard as I did, so I could win and do well with it.”

The scholarship is just one of many awards she has been honored with. Zimmer has also been an All-District, All-Region and All-State volleyball player, she was named to the Optimists All-Star team, and was also named NDHSCA Region 8 Volleyball Senior Athlete of the Year, the release states.

Finally, Zimmer was also fortunate enough to participate in the NDHSAA Class B Girls Basketball State Tournament and enjoyed a sixth-place finish with her teammates after a 40-27 consolation semifinal victory against Glenburn High School at the Minot State Dome in early March.

She credited her school’s relative small size as the one of the main factors behind her ability to tackle so many activities at once.

“It showed me that I can do a lot more with my time than just one thing,” Zimmer explained. “Going to Kenmare, it’s such a small school, we have a lot of options and we have a lot of opportunities to be in multiple things and do well in all of them. Everyone’s in everything, and that gives you more opportunities to get good at all of it and get involved in all of it.”