Student leader takes reins in Faulkton

Senioritis certainly isn't setting in for Kyle Ortmeier.

 Ortmeier, 18, is keeping his senior year schedule full by doing an internship at Faulkton Area Medical Center, fulfilling his duties as FCCLA state president, practicing for oral interpretation, rehearsing for plays, helping put the yearbook together and occasionally working as a dietary aide. If that isn't enough, he recently gave a speech at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark., to an audience that included Bill and Chelsea Clinton.

 "It's not difficult to juggle everything, but it does get a little time-consuming," he said. "I don't get much sleep, but all the activities have been helping me out because it's all about time management."

 Nikki Melius, a family and consumer sciences teacher who also serves as the internship coordinator at Faulkton High School, encouraged Ortmeier to apply for the opportunity to be on youth advisory board of Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The Alliance was founded by the American Heart Association and William J. Clinton Foundation to address the issue of childhood obesity.

 In June 2011, the Faulkton teen became one of about 20 board members.

 Ortmeier applied because he knew he would like to do something along the lines of health or public service. He said he takes personal health very seriously because he was diagnosed at age 4 with Burkitt's lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system.

 "There was a grapefruit-sized tumor on my small intestine," he said.

 He underwent chemotherapy treatment in Rochester, Minn., for eight months.

 "I'm health conscious about everything because I want to take control of who I am and make sure I'm healthy and that it doesn't happen again," he said.

 After being in remission for five years, he has cancer free since.

 "I knew from a young age that I'm on this earth for a reason and I've got to give back the same way people have given to me," Ortmeier said.

 His involvement with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation has brought him to Los Angeles and Boston to meet with other students from across the country. In September, he was asked to represent the Alliance at an event and give a speech on childhood obesity in November.

 No stranger to public speaking because of his involvement with oral interpretation and drama productions, he accepted. Then, Ortmeier was told he would be speaking in front of representatives from every arm of the Clinton Foundation.

 "I got really nervous when I was writing the speech, since I'm a small-town kid who was going to talk to all these important people," he said. "I was excited, a little nervous and went through every emotion aside from depression and anger."

 After he delivered his speech, he said Bill and Chelsea came up to him.

 "They told me I gave a good speech, and they told me that I was real," he said. "I told them that I'm from South Dakota, so all I do is real."

 Ortmeier said he thought Clinton would be all politics, but to hear that he cared about the efforts of the Alliance and South Dakota made him more personable.

 "He became a real person to me," he said. "He's also a real guy."

 As a youth advisory board member, Ortmeier is required to do a service learning project. He partnered with April Sorensen, a dietitian at the Faulkton Area Medical Center, to promote healthy living to students at the Faulkton Area School.

 He spearheaded a wellness committee at the school that involved students of all ages and began developing a no-outside-beverages policy for the school in January. He saw how dependent his classmates were on sugary drinks, such as pop and energy drinks.