Class of 2026, a class of 185 students, but here we focus on one student, Lillian Kral, who also goes by Lilly.
“She is kind, ambitious, brave, and has a great work ethic,” Lilly’s best friend of 4 years, Ella Jensen, said. “She makes senior year special; she does all the things.”
To start her senior year off, Lilly ran for Miss New Ulm and escorted Daniel Brownfield for the 2025 homecoming coronation, where he won homecoming king. “I walked the king, so it was pretty cool seeing him get crowned,” Kral said.
So far, she has participated in some FFA events and finished her Tennis season. Let’s see what else she is up to in her senior year.
With her busy schedule, Kral said, “I wake up around 5:30 a.m. every day to get ready because I live pretty far outside of town on my farm. I get to school and have my early bird class at 7:00 a.m. And then I have hockey practice, which is right after school.”
With her busy schedule, she is able to maintain her days for other activities.
“It’s hard. I mean, it helps that I have an open hour to do homework, and I also have some time before practice. My planner is crazy, but that is how I keep track of everything.”
Her biggest struggle is being interested in a lot of things. “I was always thinking about student council or going out for the musical, but I’ve always liked sports, so I’ve always thought of managing one, but I never really had time to because of all the activities I’m already in,” Kral said. “So wanting to do more and not having time is my biggest struggle.”
Her least favorite experience this year is that she has a current injury, and a classmate flicked her elbow where her injury is, which had her crying in the middle of class. Her injury was from hitting her elbow straight on the ice at a hockey game and injuring her olecranon in her elbow, which burst. She has a bruised bone and possible nerve damage.
“My least favorite experience in general is freshman year,” Lilly said. “I will not miss the weird kids or smells in the school. And I won’t miss the classes that made me have a lot of homework. And I won’t miss mean people.”
“It is hard to choose a favorite experience; there is a lot, but probably leaving for sports is fun.” Lilly will miss the random conversations she has in the hallways. She talks to a lot of people on a daily basis.
With the first semester coming to an end, Kral said, “I feel really good. I didn’t really have a lot of problems with a lot of classes. My grades have been, I mean, at least B’s and above. So I’m not too worried about that. It’s really fun, and I’m glad it’s going by quick.”
Lilly has seven siblings, one being her twin brother, whose name is Levi. This year they haven’t seen much of each other with their busy schedules and such, but they still see each other at least every three weeks.
“We are polar opposites. Probably our biggest connection is living on a farm and being in FFA together. But then I barely see him.”
“I can’t wait to graduate. I think he’ll have a great future after graduation. It’s hard not seeing him as much but good because then we’re not really relying on each other like we used to.”
What Lilly would tell her younger self: “Be nice to everyone and don’t listen to anyone, because I was bullied a lot in middle school and freshman year for a lot of my looks in my body. And I hated that I listened to people because they gave me a lot of toxic traits that I do today about myself and my confidence. I’m finally getting better at it. And then be nice to anyone, because you never know what someone can do for you.”
