Hawk You Should Know

By Meghan Benson | Athletics, Student Life, Upper School

Meet Jon Orth ’25, a remarkable student who exemplifies the true spirit of leadership, dedication, and passion for both academics and sports.

Accomplishments & Activities: 

  • Prairie Student Government President
  • Badger Boys State Governor
  • Member of Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Active Faith Club President
  • Honor Committee
  • Member of the first-ever WIAA Student-Athlete Leadership Team
  • Upper School Musical: Mean Girls (Aaron Samuels) and Little Mermaid (Prince Eric)

Athletics: 

  • Soccer
  • Basketball
  • Tennis – Captain

Athletic Career Highlights: 

  • Three straight state tennis tournament appearances
  • First Team All-County Boys’ Tennis: 2022, 2023
  • First Team All-Conference Boys’ Tennis: 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Metro Classic Conference Singles Tennis Player of the Year: 2024

Named to the first-ever WIAA Student-Athlete Leadership Team!

In this role, Jon will act as an ambassador for his peers across the state and the WIAA, providing a student voice to the WIAA Board of Control while learning more about the sports industry. In response to Jon’s new role, Prairie’s Athletic Director Jason Atanasoff said, “I cannot think of someone more deserving than Jon to be selected for the first-ever WIAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  He represents Prairie Athletics and Prairie as a whole remarkably well, and while it was not a surprise to me that he got selected, that doesn’t take away from how excited we all were.  Jon is a tremendous servant leader and exemplifies being a scholar, athlete, and artist.”

 Jon at Badger Boys State

This past summer, Jon headed to Eau Claire, WI, to participate in Badger Boys State, a camp for rising seniors focusing on leadership development and personal growth. Jon, a third-generation attendee, made quite an impression on his peers and was elected as the Badger Boys State Governor out of 700 others. This accomplishment is no small feat; we are incredibly proud of him. Click here for a press release on Jon’s time at Badger Boys State.

Pictured below: Jon with Governor of Wisconsin Tony Evers, his swearing-in, and him with former Governor of Wisconsin Tommy Thompson.

What Being a Hawk Means to Jon

In his own words, Jon shares, “Being a Hawk is showing up every day, willing to work, collaborate, and learn with your peers to create meaningful change in the world; bettering yourself to better others.” We wholeheartedly agree with Jon and believe he exemplifies this daily at TPS. He constantly shows up, embodying the very spirit of our school.

Mari Grobschmidt, Head of Upper School, echoes this sentiment: “As part of the Upper School community, Jon naturally models what it means to be a servant leader. He effortlessly puts others before himself, consistently seeks ways to help, and intrinsically knows what needs to be done to make things better.”

As Jon continues to grow and excel, it is inevitable that he will leave a lasting impact within the school and beyond its walls. We can’t wait to see him rock his senior year and what follows.