“Wyatt Birr ‘Walks the Walk’ with Leadership.”
Kids these days. Social Media often portrays Gen Z and the forthcoming Gen Alpha as creatures about to ruin human civilization, yet Maple River High School is still churning out a few “old school” types who understand the importance of community. The son of Jodi and Ben Birr recently received the Maple River National Honor Society’s Individual Service Project of the year award, which is a project that benefits the community and is initiated by the members of NHS. For his project, Wyatt Birr thought like a kid.
Along with the construction of the new school facility came several drainage ponds, with some having pockets of water deeper than nearby Lura Lake. Yet a thick ring of reeds also filled in around the shore, helping to filter the water yet also preventing any access for kids to fish. Having seen environmental science classes stock a natural assortment of fish, Birr recognized the solution to a problem. “I knew I wanted to do something ‘hands on.’ That's something I'm interested in: building things. My dad is a carpenter, so I've always looked up to that and follow in his footsteps a little bit, but I knew I wanted to do something hands on and I was talking to Mr. Nienhaus because I heard he had some projects he wanted down at the pond, and he brought up building the dock and I knew that was right up my alley. So I got to it and started planning it. My dad obviously helped me with a lot of the logistics of it, how much it's gonna cost, estimating it and stuff. I found out it wasn't going to be cheap. It's gonna be a pricey project. But we knew we could reach out to the Mapleton Chamber of Commerce and the Football Association helped out a lot with it. And then also probably the biggest one is we contacted Hewitt Docks in Nicollet. They donated all the black floats underneath the dock.”
To take the picture for this story, Wyatt Birr and I had to wait for
a preschool student and mother to take a peek at the pond and for an elementary aged fisherman to finish casting. “I've got lots of good feedback from the community,” Birr added. “People reach out to say, ‘Holy, Holy crap, like that actually happened.’ It looks great and the kids love it. We did a lot with the pond and we'd go to local rivers and lakes and stuff and net fish, and along with the DNR, obviously with their regulations, we've been stocking fish in there. And they're still pretty small right now, but there's a few bigger ones. I mean, they'll continue to grow and hopefully be some big catches.”
Pick a Lane
Generation X is defined by the classic 80’s movie The Breakfast Club, where a group of students end up in detention together (We’ll get back to detention later in the story). The characters in the movie represented a brain, an athlete, a basketcase, a princess, and a criminal and showed how despite being from different social groups, teens often share similar experiences. Many Generation X members could recognize themselves in one of those five characters.
But Gen Z Wyatt Birr?
He walks confidently through all those groups.
A Brain? Yes, folks, he has a 4.0 GPA, which would’ve prompted a Gen X member to quickly place that “L” gesture upon their forehead. “I actually like math, which might seem crazy. But yeah, I do enjoy doing math (when you actually understand what's going on). I love science classes as well.” Birr believes his future plans will likely involve civil engineering.
An Athlete? He’s a three-sport starter in football, basketball, and baseball with plenty of accolades to warrant staying in that lane 24-7-365. “I've been in basketball since I could walk. Pretty much, I've been dribbling a basketball since. Football started in fourth grade, and I’ve been doing baseball since second grade. Last year I was captain on the basketball team. So that was a pretty big thing.”
A Criminal? While Birr certainly isn’t a criminal (we’ll get back to detention later), he also fully embraced roles that used to be reserved for distinctly separate social groups. That one time at band camp? Birr not only joined the marching band but he’s…the king of the band kids. “I kind of got thrown into that during COVID around eighth grade. My mom kinda did some haggling on me to try to get me to do it because it's something interesting and new and unique. But yeah, I've been in that ever since and I really enjoyed it.” His four-years of dedication to marching band was rewarded when he was chosen by his peers to be one of the two drum majors. “Being the leader of the band is different from being a member as you’re the main focus of attention during rehearsals and performances. You have to not only hold others accountable but hold yourself accountable in order to make the band successful. Leading by example is the biggest responsibility.”
A basketcase? Keeping a busy schedule like this might drive a lesser student to madness, but Wyatt puts his boots on one foot at a time. Speaking of boots, Birr embraced his roots by joining FFA, which led him to a State Championship during his sophomore year in Ag Sales and an appearance at Nationals. Along with his role as sports captain and drum major, Birr also is the senior class president, the Serteen President, and the NHS treasurer.
The Breakfast Club Intervention
When a school year ends, most kids go home, but Birr? He never leaves. Along with his own activities like marching band or football, he also volunteers to help run camps throughout the summer. “I'm here every single day pretty much from 6:30 to three.” When he isn’t actively involved in these activities, he helps out his mother Jodi, who works in the business office. “In the beginning of August, we normally go up north on vacation. So that's like my one week of free time. Then football starts on the 12th.”
Birr’s leadership and accolades didn’t come from fierce ambition or apathetic peers. To reach this point, Birr credits leaders in his own life. “A big role model in my family would be my dad. I mean, I look up to him a lot. He is probably one of the hardest working guys I know. Day in and day out, he's working hard operating a business and then also coming home and doing some farming on the side.” Birr also credits upperclassmen for showing him how to be a leader, especially the class of 2022 seniors. “I was coming in as a freshman and going on into the football team. I was kind of scared and you're a freshman and it's all new and stuff. But that senior class was really good to me and showed me the ropes; kind of took me under their wing and helped me become the athlete I am today.” Birr also learned leadership through his involvement in Serteen. “I don't know if I could ever ever get to the level of this guy, but it's probably Jim Swanson. He is the definition of a leader. I look up to him a lot with the role he's taken in the community and helping others. He's always the guy you can call if you need help for anything and he'll be right on it.”
Yet for a brief period in his life, Birr’s role as a leader wasn’t so obvious. In fact, he remembers an intervention with teachers and his parents for turning a corner. “I was like any middle school kid: I was a little troublemaker, and I wasn't on many of the teachers' good sides.” Coming away from that intervention, Birr found a new perspective. “I learned that a few laughs from some of your classmates aren't really worth getting in trouble and always being in the office. Probably the biggest wake up call for me was in eighth grade. I got in trouble and had to sit out a basketball game. So that was probably one of the biggest things for me. I was like, ‘Man, I really gotta get this together’ and started going down the right path.”
Even though he’s achieved several leadership roles, Birr also is learning as he goes. “I've learned that people are always watching you. I mean, especially when you're involved in so much. The eyes are always on you, but you know that can be a good thing. A lot of little kids look up to me and a bunch of other guys that are on the sports teams. It's doing what's right when people aren't looking just the same as when people are looking.”
While Birr will likely leave the area following his senior year to attend college, he leaves understanding the idea of community. “I've lived in this community my whole life. I've grown up in it. I've seen so many great people come through it and you kind of just try to follow in their footsteps and be the next person who makes an impact and leaves a lasting impact. And that's part of why I wanted to build the dock. That's going to be there for hopefully years to come and hopefully it'll stay in the community for a long time.”
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