Post by title1parent on Apr 19, 2008 6:24:10 GMT -5
Fox Valley recognizes 24 high school stars
April 19, 2008
By Elisabeth Kilpatrick ekilpatrick@scn1.com
They're athletes and honor roll students, artists and scientists. They're active in their churches and spend countless hours volunteering. They strive to be lawyers, business moguls, actors, doctors and fashion designers.
The 24 high schoolers honored at the seventh annual Community Pride High School Forum are, quite simply, amazing.
"They all make you feel inadequate," joked Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti, whose office sponsors the forum.
Each year, the state's attorney's office asks each Aurora high school to submit their best candidates, and then narrows down the field to 24 honorees. The best and the brightest were on display at Thursday night's ceremony at Prisco Community Center, and emcee Clayton Muhammad made sure to emphasize how hard they had worked to get there.
"These students are butterflies," he declared. "Birds are born with wings, but butterflies have to learn how to grow them."
By high school, the night's honorees were:
• Aurora Central Catholic: Brittany Giberson, a Girl Scout, flute player and church cantor; Kristen Hartman, an Arthritis Foundation volunteer and lobbyist; Courtney Hoffman, a three-sport athlete and member of the traveling softball team.
• East Aurora: Paul Anacay, a Fermilab Afternoon Scholar, tennis player and Science Club member; Samory Liggins, vice president of Boys II Men and elected student representative on the East Aurora Board of Education; Rodrigo Madrigal, the Science Club president and a National Honor Society member; Jasmine Munoz, a young mom, honor student and Argonne Labs Conference delegate; Roberto Saenz, vice president of the junior class council, vice president of the Thespian Society and first chair in the Honors Jazz Band.
• Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy: Chelsea Fu, an award-winning cellist with the Elgin Symphony Youth Orchestra who tutors younger students in cello and math; Jennifer Iglesias, an Ecoventures volunteer, cross-country runner and U.S. Girls Math Olympiad representative; Lisa Peterson, a student leader with SCORE, an opera program for students.
• Rosary High School: Kathryn Breisch, a teen director for Operation Snowball, Rosary Senior Retreat Team member, Springfield Project participant and student ambassador for Rosary; Kelsey Demetralis, a volleyball player who coaches younger students and a Rosary Senior Retreat Team member; Katharine McCauley, a food pantry and church volunteer and a National Honor Society member.
• Waubonsie Valley: Amy Berger, who collected 100,000 Valentine's Day cards for U.S. soldiers through her "Hearts for Heroes" program and won the Citizen of the Year award; Shawna K. Echols, a choir member, church child-care assistant and Student of the Month at Waubonsie; Jelani Johnson, an award-winning basketball player who volunteers at the Rising Star Basketball Camp; Adam Kozak, a library volunteer, high honor roll student and varsity swim team member; Meghan Stoll, who spearheaded an effort to provide low-cost dresses to girls so they could attend prom; Ta-Tynisa Wilson, the 2007 winner of Aurora Idol and a charter member of Diamonds.
• West Aurora: Lauren Michels, junior class secretary on the student council, National Honor Society member, retirement home volunteer and dancer; Lynnette Montanez, president of Diamonds, who also organized the school's first Global Night Out fundraiser; Michael Roggeman, a football, basketball and baseball player, tutor and Hesed House volunteer; Anna Wetherholt, who received the city's Community Volunteer Award, MVP for the JV Scholastic Bowl team and the Blackhawk Pride Award.
April 19, 2008
By Elisabeth Kilpatrick ekilpatrick@scn1.com
They're athletes and honor roll students, artists and scientists. They're active in their churches and spend countless hours volunteering. They strive to be lawyers, business moguls, actors, doctors and fashion designers.
The 24 high schoolers honored at the seventh annual Community Pride High School Forum are, quite simply, amazing.
"They all make you feel inadequate," joked Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti, whose office sponsors the forum.
Each year, the state's attorney's office asks each Aurora high school to submit their best candidates, and then narrows down the field to 24 honorees. The best and the brightest were on display at Thursday night's ceremony at Prisco Community Center, and emcee Clayton Muhammad made sure to emphasize how hard they had worked to get there.
"These students are butterflies," he declared. "Birds are born with wings, but butterflies have to learn how to grow them."
By high school, the night's honorees were:
• Aurora Central Catholic: Brittany Giberson, a Girl Scout, flute player and church cantor; Kristen Hartman, an Arthritis Foundation volunteer and lobbyist; Courtney Hoffman, a three-sport athlete and member of the traveling softball team.
• East Aurora: Paul Anacay, a Fermilab Afternoon Scholar, tennis player and Science Club member; Samory Liggins, vice president of Boys II Men and elected student representative on the East Aurora Board of Education; Rodrigo Madrigal, the Science Club president and a National Honor Society member; Jasmine Munoz, a young mom, honor student and Argonne Labs Conference delegate; Roberto Saenz, vice president of the junior class council, vice president of the Thespian Society and first chair in the Honors Jazz Band.
• Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy: Chelsea Fu, an award-winning cellist with the Elgin Symphony Youth Orchestra who tutors younger students in cello and math; Jennifer Iglesias, an Ecoventures volunteer, cross-country runner and U.S. Girls Math Olympiad representative; Lisa Peterson, a student leader with SCORE, an opera program for students.
• Rosary High School: Kathryn Breisch, a teen director for Operation Snowball, Rosary Senior Retreat Team member, Springfield Project participant and student ambassador for Rosary; Kelsey Demetralis, a volleyball player who coaches younger students and a Rosary Senior Retreat Team member; Katharine McCauley, a food pantry and church volunteer and a National Honor Society member.
• Waubonsie Valley: Amy Berger, who collected 100,000 Valentine's Day cards for U.S. soldiers through her "Hearts for Heroes" program and won the Citizen of the Year award; Shawna K. Echols, a choir member, church child-care assistant and Student of the Month at Waubonsie; Jelani Johnson, an award-winning basketball player who volunteers at the Rising Star Basketball Camp; Adam Kozak, a library volunteer, high honor roll student and varsity swim team member; Meghan Stoll, who spearheaded an effort to provide low-cost dresses to girls so they could attend prom; Ta-Tynisa Wilson, the 2007 winner of Aurora Idol and a charter member of Diamonds.
• West Aurora: Lauren Michels, junior class secretary on the student council, National Honor Society member, retirement home volunteer and dancer; Lynnette Montanez, president of Diamonds, who also organized the school's first Global Night Out fundraiser; Michael Roggeman, a football, basketball and baseball player, tutor and Hesed House volunteer; Anna Wetherholt, who received the city's Community Volunteer Award, MVP for the JV Scholastic Bowl team and the Blackhawk Pride Award.