POULSBO — The North Kitsap Poulsbo Rotary honored two North Kitsap High School athletes for their service on and off the field at their weekly breakfast last week.

Seniors Lisa Gilbert and Spencer Thomas received $100 savings bonds from Frontier Bank, as well as praise from the service organization.

Gilbert, a four-year varsity soccer player with a near 4.0 GPA, has a lengthy list of service and athletic accomplishments. She also played basketball for two years, fastpitch for three years, and volunteers time at Poulsbo Elementary School. She has been involved with LINK for a year and is a senior mentor and natural helper.

Gilbert said she believes athletics provide a learning experience that the classroom cannot.

“You learn things (in sports) that aren’t academic,” she said. “More things about life experiences.”

Gilbert decided not to play basketball and instead, try to get some job experience. She also said that the most valuable lesson she learned in high school is diversity.

“More than anything, I’ve learned to appreciate the differences in people,” she said.

Like Gilbert, Thomas has a long list of service and athletic experiences. A straight-A student and a three-year varsity tennis player, he spends one day a week as a mentor at Wolfle Elementary School. He has also been involved in the drama program for three years and played a year of soccer.

Athletics are a great outlet and way to show school pride, Thomas said.

“For me, (athletics) relieve the stress of school,” he said. “And you get to play and be proud of your school.”

Thomas said that teachers have made the biggest difference in his education in North Kitsap.

“The teachers I’ve had pushed me to become better at things I didn’t want to become better at,” Thomas said. “They’ve made me pay attention to detail.”

His high school experience has also broadened his outlook on life.

“I am so much more aware of the world now,” he said.