Our years in high school provide us all with a quality education and countless opportunities. Among all of our different classes, activities, clubs, and sports, some people stand out as having worked and innovated their way to the top of their class, causing a profound impact and testing their potential. Nobody that I know has done that better than Marcus Madsen.

Marcus Madsen is a senior, class of ‘25. Throughout his time here at the high school, he’s been around almost everything our school has to offer- and more. From FBLA, Mock Trial, Hockey, and Spartan Spin, Madsen has been immersed and involved with everything our school has to offer. However, Madsen has shown that his real passion here in his high school days has been our unique student-led business, Spartan Manufacturing. 

This year was his second year as the president of our organization, and through that time, it is hard to quantify how much he has done for us. He coordinates all business relations with customers and clients, including but not limited to negotiating prices, dropping off finished products, and maintaining professional relationships. To help manage our production, he orders what materials and tools we need, organizes the workflow process by assigning tasks, and keeps track of our finances and expenditures. He has planned a number of community events, created a website, worked to expand our social media presence, and so much more. 

“We didn’t really tell him to do all of this stuff, but his role kept expanding,” explains Adam Kuhlman, one of Spartan Manufacturing’s founders and instructors. 

Kuhlman watched Madsen’s role go from a tentative social media manager as a sophomore (2022-23) to the workhorse he is today. 

“He’s influential and driven. He sees problems, wants to create solutions, wants ways that things could be improved,” said Kuhlman.

Kuhlman is also a firsthand witness to Madsen’s ability to build a professional relationship. This is important, as Madsen is the main point of contact between Spartan Manufacturing and dozens of clients and community partners. His poise, friendly attitude, and maturity are on display and have really helped our reputation as a company. 

“I’ve been a part of a lot of different things through high school, heading into my upperclassman years, it culminated into Business Administration with SMFG. I developed a passion for business working with Spartan Manufacturing. It felt like everything I did after that, I moved into a Leadership role,” said Madsen. 

Bringing his FBLA team to nationals, helping lead the Mock Trial team to state, and building up the Spartan Spin Website are just two examples of Madsen’s leadership bearing fruit. 

All of this has earned Madsen an admission to UMD for Business Management. It may not be a stretch to say that he is one of the more qualified business students to come out of a high school, because along with his Spartan Manufacturing gig, he has balanced with and excelled in managerial position at Mcdonald’s East End location. 

“I think I’ve helped lay the foundation for growth,” said Madsen when asked about the future of Spartan Manufacturing. 

One could imagine that the loss of such a powerhouse might prove daunting for our organization, and let’s concede that it certainly won’t be easy to adjust and fill his role next year. Luckily, though, Madsen has set us up for success. 

“As we’ve gone on, more people have become more passionate and engaged. As we go, year after year, we will continue to find more and more people with more and more passion, and that will help to continue to help and make the business grow,” concluded Marcus. 

All in all, Marcus’ passion, energy, and hard work will be sorely missed across our entire school community.