Rilee Gottenbos
Goal-driven teen headed to Boston
Canyon Lake 16-year-old high school junior Rilee Gottenbos attends Temescal Canyon High School and is anything but a typical teenager.
Rilee has been nominated as a delegate to represent TCHS and California in the Congress of Future Medical Leaders Conference in Boston. The purpose of the conference is to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country interested in medical leader careers.
While at the conference, Rilee will be taught to stay true to her dream and will be given a plan and the resources to reach her goals.
The three-day conference will take place June 21-23. This conference will be a time to learn and network with Nobel prize winners. She will meet with world-renowned physicians and surgeons while learning about the most innovative medical technologies, including witnessing a live surgery using these medical innovations.
Rilee is an Honors student with a 4.2 grade point average and takes college classes on top of her high school studies. Rilee is a member of the Temescal Canyon High School Health and Medical Careers Academy, California Scholarship Federation, HOSA Future Health Professionals, and the National Honor Society. Rilee is planning on graduating high school a year early and hopes to start her university undergraduate studies this fall.
Rilee Gottenbos
Rilee was born in Canyon Lake, but her father joined the Army in 2013 causing the family to move away before returning a year ago when her father was medically retired from active duty. Riley lives with her mother and father Kristen and Tim Gottenbos and is the eldest of two siblings, Alyssa Gottenbos, 14, and Bradley Gottenbos, 12.
“We love everything about Canyon Lake,” Kristen said. “Paddle boarding, fishing, swimming at the lake, Taco Tuesdays, the dog park and cruising in our golf cart.”
Rilee volunteers her time in different ways and loves giving back to the community. She has been a part of the Canyon Lake Family Matters Club Halloween Festival and ran a game booth for the kids at Holiday Harbor. She volunteers at the American Cancer Society and at a local nursing school.
Rilee also loves playing the violin and has been involved in cheerleading. When Rilee moved back to Canyon Lake she decided to focus exclusively on her studies and work and put cheer and the violin on the shelf for now in order to do so.
Kristen said that Rilee is never home. She is either away at school or at work. Rilee has been a nanny for a family with two daughters in Canyon Lake since moving back to the community. Rilee has recently taken on an additional job at Olive Garden.
Rilee Gottenbos volunteers at Holiday Harbor for the Canyon Lake Family Matters Halloween Game Booth in October. Rilee is headed to a prestigious conference in Boston in June. Photo Provided By Kristen Gottenbos
Rilee’s lofty goals that she has thought about since she was a little girl came from watching her parents and grandparents. Rilee’s mother is a registered nurse and has a Masters Degree.
“I always came home and shared stories with her about my day,” Kristen said. “Rilee loved to chit chat with me and her grandmother who is also an RN.”
Rilee’s grandfather served as a firefighter and her father in the Army. Serving others is in her blood. Rilee feels pretty set on becoming an RN with aspirations of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Currently, Rilee is being encouraged to go for her full MD by academic professionals.
“If there was one thing in the world I could change pertaining to medicine,” Rilee said, “it would be to make healthcare more affordable and more available to everyone.”
Rilee has to fundraise in order to pay for her trip to Boston for herself and a chaperone. Rilee has a Go Fund Me account set up for the leadership trip. She can be found on the Go Fund Me website by searching for Rilee Gottenbos. The family can also receive donations by contacting them at 951-956-4281.