At its April 22, 2026 club meeting, the Seward Rotary Club recognized Seward High School senior, Sophie Russell, as the March Youth Rotarian of the Month. Sophie is the daughter of Tracy Phillips. Youth Rotarians of the Month are selected based on their service, scholarship, leadership, and citizenship efforts during high school. They receive a book scholarship for college and a bag of information about Seward. Monthly Youth Rotarians are also finalists for the Seward Youth Rotarian of the Year award which will be presented at the annual SHS Honors Night.
Sophie demonstrates academic excellence with her 4.0 GPA, membership in National Honor Society, Honor Roll achievements, Cum Laude status, and two academic letters. She also earned dual credit for her work in AP Environmental Science.
Sophie’s school commitment is demonstrated through her participation in FCCLA, Key Club, Volleyball, Unified Bowling and Bowling, Basketball, and Unified Sport Stacking. Additionally, she has served as a Seward High School Ambassador for the past three years.
Outside of school, Sophie has gained experience through detasseling work for three years for Sloup-Thorrell. She learned how to work in varying environments and weather. She presently works at Jimmy John’s and aims to keep the drive-through line moving, making sandwiches to the Jimmy John’s standard, and ensuring accuracy of orders. She is also active in showing open class for the Seward County Fair and has earned first, second, and third places at the Sunflower Stack-up in Iowa.
Sophie has documented more than 475 hours of community service, serving a variety of organizations to complete many projects. Some of her service time has been with the Seward Genealogical Society, and she has dedicated time to assisting with elections and carrying supplies into the courthouse. Many of her service hours have been completed through her work to support the high school volleyball team with keeping stats at games, and assisting in practice set-up. She has assisted with Key Club service projects and a variety of school-based projects as an Ambassador.
Sophie plans to major in social work and minor in psychology at Nebraska Wesleyan following graduation in May 2026.
The Seward Rotary Club wishes the best to Sophie and all area seniors; and the club encourages each of them to embrace opportunities to serve others locally and around the world with their specific gifts and interests.