LELAND- Ella Knudsen does it all at Leland. She currently captains the 16-5 girls’ basketball team, good for the most wins in the last 15 years with Districts still ahead of them on March 5th.
She also captains the cross-country team that she will have been a part of for four years come the Spring and captained the track team in her fourth year in the Fall of 2024. Knudson also played four years of varsity golf, and two of soccer, all while excelling in the classroom and community.
Knudsen also serves as president of the school’s student council, National Honors, and National Art Honor Society chapters in addition to being on the MHSAA student advisory and local youth advisory councils.
“I love to be involved in everything I possibly can be. Probably my driving force is I’m just always looking for how I can help out. Within, small, tight knit community, we have to be willing to give our time, to give our best effort to make sure that we’re able to succeed in things and that things go well. And so, whether that’s in sports, in the classroom, part of any club or anything, just making one another better and providing these opportunities” (Knudsen).
Though she may be from what she calls a small community, Knudsen has garnered state-wide recognition for her efforts, winning the MHSAA Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar Athlete Award, considered the MHSAA’s most prestigious, and coming with a $2,000 dollar scholarship for Knudsen to further her education.
“My initial reaction was kind of just in awe. But I was also super excited, especially coming from a small school and we’ve had multiple, people receive it within the last few years. So that speaks a lot to the type of students and athletes and just the caliber of people we have here at Leland” (Knudsen).
Knudsen was awarded the scholarship based on achievement and leadership in athletics and activities, as well as responses to short-answer and essay questions.
“So, what I talked about in my essay was it was the focus was sportsmanship. And I talked a lot about how coming from a small school, we’re able to build those relationship and there can be so impactful, within the arena, the fields, the course of sports.
And how when you create relationships with other people from other teams, you’re able to build each other up. And that just creates a sense of you feel like you belong no matter where you are. And you know that you have a community” (Knudsen).
Knudsen has also been awarded the AP Scholar Recognition and Rural Small-Town award from the College Board.
She is glad to have called Leland home and will go on to Hope College after graduation to continue her education and running career.
