Freshman year is a turning point. The expectations grow. The schedules get fuller. The homework piles up. For Forreston freshman Joe Haller, that transition has brought exactly what he hoped it would.

“It’s definitely a big change from middle school,” Joe says. “There’s a lot more work to it, and you gotta put a lot more into it.” But rather than seeing that shift as a burden, he calls it “a great challenge to overcome.”

That mindset shows up everywhere in Joe’s life at Forreston. He plays football, wrestles at 148 pounds, and is gearing up for baseball season. He plays the French horn in the school band with Solo and Ensemble competition on the horizon. And this year he’s singing in the school’s production of Guys and Dolls—no speaking role, but he’s in there singing everybody up.

His days are a careful balance of all of it, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Wrestling season is nearing its end, with JV regionals approaching. Joe’s record sits at about .500. “Kind of middle of the line,” he says, “but I’ve been liking it.” He’s stepped up to varsity when opportunities arise, and wherever he’s needed, he’s ready.

That flexibility is something his coaches have come to appreciate. In football, he’s played linebacker and running back, with talk of moving him to tight end. In baseball, he’s comfortable pitching or patrolling left field.

“I like to be a utility player,” he explains. “Kind of be everywhere.”

Asked if he’s willing to adjust positions: “Of course.”

That team-first mindset mirrors something deeper. Joe enjoys the process of tackling difficult problems—whether on the field, in the classroom, or in an engineering project.

One course that has captured his interest this year is Intro to Engineering. It wasn’t required, but Joe wanted to give it a try. “I’ve never done any engineering pathways,” he says. “It sounded unique and interesting to me, and it’s been everything I thought it would be.”

What fascinates him most is the way engineering requires a particular kind of thinking. He offers a concrete example: designing a 3D model for printing.

“I always think of the thing that’s going to be the hardest objective of that entire thing,” he says. “And I focus on that, because that’s the bottleneck.”

Once the hardest piece is solved, everything else becomes easier to build around it.

“Each day you’re learning something new, and it’s kind of thrown at you,” he says. “You kind of gotta grab it by the neck and tackle the problem head-on.”

He credits one teacher in particular for helping him think that way. Mr. Setterstrom, he says, has a philosophy: it takes about forty times of hearing something before it truly sticks. Joe connects with that. “I can’t understand something the first try,” he says. “I need multiple explanations and multiple times to just hear it. And he’s really been great at showing me that.”

Study habits are still a work in progress. “I’m getting there,” he says. But he has plenty of support. Joe is one of four siblings, with three sisters. One is studying biology at Northwestern University. Another is teaching in Freeport. The third is a sophomore at Forreston.

“They can always give me that little tip or trick that can help me through it,” he says.

And then there are his parents. Even when they don’t have the answers, they show up. “They’ll sit with me at that table, and they’ll look it up,” Joe says. “And they’ll do their best to kind of transcribe that to me.” That steady presence has helped him navigate the early stages of high school while keeping his options wide open.

He’s planning to pursue AP Chemistry and AP Physics while in high school and Joe is considering becoming a teacher or social worker. Yet Engineering still intrigues him. And Northwestern—his sister’s school—sits in his mind as a dream. “That’s like a dream college,” he says. “That’s insane.”

For now, Joe isn’t in a hurry to narrow it down. Some of the memories he expects to carry longest have less to do with grades and more to do with the culture of Forreston itself. Pep rallies. Spirit days. Bus rides home from games.

“It’s very energetic,” he says. “And I really like how they bring this culture that’s kind of unique to us.”

And for Joe Haller, the challenges that come with it are exactly what make the journey worthwhile. “I kind of just like the challenge it brings to the table.”