Tis the season for Bryce Beisner.
 
Yes, one could be talking about his senior basketball season at Beloit. The leading returning scorer for the Trojans from a year ago when he averaged 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, Beisner has upped his production to 16.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game this season in leading Beloit to a 6-0 start.
 
But if it’s December in Beloit, there’s really only one season everyone truly associates Beisner with. Christmas.
 
When it comes to the holiday season, each year Beisner is lit. Figuratively and literally.
 
“I don’t know what it is but ever since I was a little kid, for as long as I can remember, I’ve just loved everything about Christmas,” Beisner said. “I’m just drawn to the feel of the season and being around family so much. I like the weather and snow. It’s just everything about it.”
 
But there’s one aspect of Christmas that shines the brightest for Beisner, and has for quite some time. While he’s no Clark Griswold, Beisner possesses an obsession with exterior illumination … AKA Christmas lights … that is well-known in Beloit and surrounding communities in north central Kansas.
 
Hooked on Christmas light shows since an early age, Beisner has spent the last several years producing his own at his family’s home. Last year, he took his talents to the community, creating a show to accompany and promote the long-standing Isle of Lights display that’s been set up in Beloit’s Chautauqua Park since 1999.
 
A shining light in his school and community, Beisner is this week’s CapFed® TrueBlue® Student of the Week.
 
Beisner has no trouble recalling where his passion for Christmas light first began. 
 
“I think I was like five or so and we would go visit my grandparents in Lawrence and they would take us to see this light show at Parkside Circle every year,” Beisner said of his visits to see his grandparents, Kent and Diana Beisner and Doug and Margo Johnson. “I loved going there and seeing those shows. Everything was synchronized to music and it was just so cool. I just always thought it would be cool to try to do something like that.”
 
The Lawrence display at Parkside Circle, which is now in its 16^th year and has its own Facebook page, ignited a passion that has only intensified through the years, particularly after attending a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert when he was in the third grade. As he got old enough to help decorate his family’s home in Beloit, Beisner began laying the groundwork to one day create his own light show.
 
For his parents, Kyle and Jodie, Bryce’s goal of producing his own light show only seemed  a natural extension of some of his other interests.
 
“He’s always been a kid that’s interested in technology and computer programming, that kind of stuff,” Kyle said. “We got him a build-your-own computer when he was younger and he really got into that. He has always taken to that kind of stuff. The light show stuff just combined his love of Christmas lights and his love for computer-type stuff. He took off with it.”
 
Five years ago, the dream became a reality. After purchasing the necessary lights, equipment and software, Beisner produced his first light show at his house. It immediately became a popular attraction in Beloit.
 
Beisner admitted there was an early learning curve and he leaned heavily on different Facebook groups, including Parkside Circle, to help in his venture.
 
“I really didn’t know much about it going in,” he said. “It was definitely a very big learning curve, getting adapted to using completely new software and being able to connect all the different pieces to make them synchronize together seamlessly with the music. Our show is definitely small compared to the ones you see on social media and stuff so I have a tremendous amount of respect for people who are able to do that.”
 
A quick learner, Beisner soaked it all up and has transferred that knowledge into enhancing his own show each year.
 
“We try to add a little bit each year,” he said. “The first year, we didn’t have very many lights that year. These past few years we’ve looked into the newer technology of pixels and color changing lights. It’s been a little challenge learning how to work with all of that.
 
“It’s the creativity part of it. I’m not the best person at drawing or painting or anything like that. But I think the light shows and video editing is a way for me to be creative and come up with new ideas.”
 
It’s gained so much popularity that it’s almost become a year-round topic of conversation in Beloit.
 
“It’s not that we have the most lights by any means, but people are always like, ‘What’s going to be new? What’s Bryce going to do differently this year?’” Kyle said. “We have a sno-cone distributor and in the middle of July they’re asking what’s going to be new with the show.
 
“Once he really started getting into it, it’s year-round. There are times during the summer where I’ll ask him ‘What are you doing on the computer?’ And he’s programming. He’s always doing new songs with the lights moving. It’s above and beyond my ability. It’s something he’s always asked about and the more I’ve gotten to know what he does and how much people appreciate it, it’s really neat that he gets to share that with others.”
 
Beisner’s display also caught the eye of the Isle of Lights director Michele Heidrick. While the display of more than 250 lights of varying subjects has been a popular attraction for decades, Heidrick was looking for a way to draw even more visitors to the park, which is located in central Beloit.
 
And she felt Beisner was the perfect person to create something to help that cause.
 
“When he was a sophomore, I told him, ‘Bryce, you’ve done your home, why don’t you do one for the Isle of Lights?’” Heidrick said.
 
Beisner was blown away by the offer.
 
“I was really excited when Michelle reached out” he said. “She basically told me to design a show, I’ll look over it and we’ll get the money we need for everything to make it go.”
 
Heidrick put in for a $4,000 grant through the Isle of Lights Foundation and when they were awarded it by the committee, Beisner set to work. He estimates there are roughly 8,000 lights in the show he put together, which is set up at the Beloit High School football field, which is located adjacent to Highway 24.
 
“He programmed it all, bought it all. He did all the work,” Heidrick said. “He’s just amazing. He programs well, is great at IT stuff and is just a super young man. It went from there and he even gets high school students to help put it up. And every year, he’s changed the content to keep it fresh and new.
 
“He is just quite an outstanding kid. He’ll come down and help us do anything we need at the Isle of Lights. He’s very thoughtful and way beyond his years in what he can do and sees what needs to be done. You can ask him to do anything and he takes over and goes to town with it.”
 
Those qualities extend well into Beisner’s involvement at Beloit High School.
 
In addition to being a basketball standout for the Trojans, Beisner has evolved into a leader at the school, which isn’t a path he necessarily saw himself following when he arrived as a freshman. 
 
“In junior high I wasn’t really that outgoing,” he said. “It wasn’t until the end of my freshman year that I started to want to push myself to be more involved.”
 
He began joining clubs and currently is in SAFE (Seatbelts Are For Everyone), Science Club and Future Medical Careers Club, the latter having sparked his desire to study pharmacy in college.
 
He’s also a member of Beloit’s National Honor Society and this year is the Student Body President.
 
“As a seventh, eighth-grader he didn’t say much – he was pretty quiet and always got good grades and was working hard,” Beloit principal Casey Seyfert said. “On the one hand, he’s a grinder and will out-work anybody, but he’s also highly intellectual. Seeing him come out of his shell and evolve and be involved in so many things with great success, his confidence has grown.”
 
Beisner said his involvement in student council at the start of his sophomore season really allowed him to blossom into becoming a presence in the school.
 
“I decided that was something I wanted to do, to be a leader in our school and push myself,” he said. “I think it’s my willingness to speak up. If there’s something I think we can fix or make better, I’ll let someone know. And willingness to listen to others and what they see too.”
 
Seyfert and other Beloit faculty said Beisner’s personality is one that other students naturally and easily respond to.
 
“One of his greatest attributes is constant positivity,” Seyfert said. “He is a constant leader and you know he’s going to make the right choice. His moral compass is very, very strong and kids follow him as a leader and as someone who is nice to everyone. Kids really appreciate that about him and I know the adults in the building do too. We’re going to miss him because everyone is included and he values everyone’s opinion. Sometimes you get seniors who forget about others, but he truly wants everyone to have a great experience.”
 
Brennan Eilert, Beloit’s school counselor and Student Council sponsor, agreed.
 
“He’s such a servant leader,” Eilert said. “He loves serving others and doesn’t ask for anything in return. He has one of the most kind and genuine spirits about him and he is himself, and always has been. The students and the faculty respect him for that.”
 
“He is just a mentor to young kids and really goes out of his way to show kids that they too can be leaders,” Heidrick added. “What I like about him, he really is infatuated with what people think of Beloit and the school system. He had a lot of pride in what he does and what he does for his school.”
 
Beisner’s flair for computer technology is felt within the school walls as well. When Beloit added a video board in the high school gym, Beisner immediately set to work creating and programming various graphics and videos to be used during volleyball and basketball season.
 
During the volleyball season, Beisner serves as a team manager, but he’s more than your run of the mill, fill the water bottles, take a few stats here and there type of manager. Beisner helps run drills during practice, whether it’s working with liberos and back-row specialists on digging balls or with blockers on positioning and footwork. During matches, he’ll often call out service targets.
 
“I’ve been truly blessed to have been a part of that program,” Beisner said of the Trojans, who have qualified for the Class 3A state tournament seven of the last eight seasons. “It’s been an amazing experience being around it and that winning culture. The intensity of every point draws me to it. There’s not a point where the energy isn’t at the highest. I just love the sport.”
 
It’s not a position many would expect someone like Beisner to take on. But Eilert said that’s part of what she admires about him.
 
“To be your own person in high school is really hard,” Eilert said. “And he owns it. He owns it. He’s his own person and the whole student body loves him and adores him. He’s a pillar of strength in our building and we’re going to be lost without him next year.”