Bermudez, Carlson earn Triple 'A' honors

When notified that he and Jeanette Bermudez had been selected as Buffalo High School’s Triple ‘A’ Award winners for 2025-26, Parker Carlson’s mind went directly to his predecessors.

“I thought of the people who won it last year – Hope [Bjornson] and Mitchell [Friesz] – and I thought, ‘Wow, there’s no way I’m in the same class with those two,’” Carlson said. “I felt and still do feel a little undeserving, but it’s really great that all of our work is getting recognized. I think it’s just a really great honor to be memorialized with such a great group of people.”

Bermudez was similarly humbled. 

“It’s crazy that I’m able to be the person the school picked to represent this,” she said.

The Minnesota State High School League’s Academics, Arts and Athletics Award is given to two seniors each year who have distinguished themselves in all three areas.

Jeanette Bermudez
A standout soccer captain who is the all-time leading scorer for full-time defenders in BHS girls soccer history, Bermudez also excels in the classroom, where she owns a 3.9 grade point average while having taken 13 college-level classes, and on stage, where she plays violin in the orchestra and sings in the choir.

“When Jeanette walks into a classroom she does so with a mature attitude and friendly demeanor,” said BHS social studies teacher Craig Lachowitzer in a letter of recommendation for Bermudez. “As a leader, her confidence, maturity, and ability to make others feel welcome are a couple of her best traits. … Many students look up to Jeanette, as she does a great job working with others in our building and making them feel valued.”

For her part, Bermudez named Lachowitzer and fellow BHS social studies teacher Tara Rosh as two of her most influential teachers, and the inspiration behind her decision to pursue teaching as a career herself. She will attend Concordia University, St. Paul in the fall and continue playing soccer there, while deciding whether she wants to focus on elementary education or special education. Her favorite subjects at BHS include social studies and English. 

“I love learning history, and I enjoy writing and reading,” she said.

In terms of importance, Bermudez said academics and sports take the primary place for her, but music also plays an essential role in supporting her success.

“Soccer and school are most important to me,” she said. “But I would also say that music helps me to relax, and I love it as well.”

In addition to soccer, Bermudez has also had success in track and field. She is a member of the Chamber Orchestra, Concert Orchestra and Concert Choir, and is active in National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Though Concordia does not have an orchestra program, she intends to bring her violin along and perhaps join a community orchestra if time allows.

“I know Jeanette is a dedicated individual because of the quality of work she produces through her music talents, in the arts, in the classroom, on the field, and as a leader for our school,” said Lachowitzer. “You will be hard-pressed to find a better person than Jeanette, and she is very deserving of the Triple ‘A’ Award.”

Bermudez is the daughter of Bismark Bermudez and Jennifer Hobbs.

Parker Carlson
An all-state singer the past two years who impressed as a key character in the fall musical “Hadestown,” Carlson has also shown strong aptitude in the classroom and mature character on and off the basketball court.

“Parker is a quiet, steady role model whose leadership is rooted in service rather than recognition,” wrote BHS Choir Director Zack Carlson-Giving in a letter of recommendation for Carlson’s candidacy. “He uplifts peers, mentors younger students, and contributes positively to the culture of both our school and broader community.”

In addition to numerous College in the Schools courses he has taken, Carlson said his favorite subjects at BHS include math, local history and public speaking. He has earned academic excellence awards at the school in both music and social studies, and carries a GPA of 3.6.

In athletics, Carlson has stood out in an unconventional way. One of the better players in his age group during freshman year, he has since been supplanted by a talented younger group that has made Buffalo one of the best teams in the state this year. After he was cut from the team his junior year, he was faced with a choice – step away completely or stay involved however he could.

“I chose to keep working,” Carlson wrote in his Triple ‘A’ paperwork. “Even after being cut, I continued to train in the weight room and participate in our open gym basketball league. I also stayed supportive of my teammates by going to as many games as I could. Through this, I learned that being part of a team is about showing up, putting in effort, and helping the group any way you can. This experience changed the way I approach challenges in sports and in life. It taught me resilience, perseverance, and the value of staying committed even when things do not go my way.”

While his basketball career may have ended sooner than he wished, Carlson took on a new challenge by participating in theatre, where his singing has allowed him to stand out. 

“Music is the most important of the three to me,” he said of the three As. “Just based on the amount of work I’ve put in and how much I really enjoy doing it, it’s one of the most important pieces of my life.”

As a regular participant in the school’s unified programming that serves students with and without disabilities together, Carlson said he is looking forward to a career in occupational therapy. He will attend the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in the fall to major in psychology and minor in music.

“I want to be an occupational therapist for people with special needs and hopefully own my own occupational therapy clinic someday,” he said. “I’ve always had kind of a soft spot in my heart for programs like Unified, so I always knew I wanted to do something like that.”

That heart has been evident to Carlson-Giving, who heads up the Unified Music program.

“His ability to lead with empathy, consistency, and purpose makes him an exemplary representative of the Triple ‘A’ Award,” Carlson-Giving said.

Carlson is the son of Jeremy Carlson.