December Students of the Month
OUR YOUTH OF THE MONTH AWARD recognizes hard-working pre-high school and high school students who attain high levels of scholastic achievement, community involvement and leadership, and daily demonstrate good citizenship both at school and at home. Students recognized for the month of December were Skylar Hampton from Sebastian Charter Junior High School, Lissett Ascencio from Storm Grove Middle School, German Hernandez from Sebastian River Middle School, and Sarah Cosner and Andres Ruiz from Sebastian River High School.
Skylar Hampton is an outstanding student and leader. She is very focused on academics. She always strives to do her best in the classroom. She is being recognized for academic accomplishments as well as the quality of her character. Skylar is a leader and a caring young lady. She works with the NJHS and recently organized a fundraising event to raise scholarship funds to honor Mr. Billy Wilson. She works extremely hard and puts the well-being of others before herself. Skylar also participates in travel softball in her free time. In accepting her award Skylar said, “Thank you for nominating me – I am very humbled and proud. I believe in the Walt Disney quote ‘if you can dream it, you can do it.’”
Lissett Ascencio is is taking all advanced classes and is the Storm Grove role model – respectful and responsible. She quietly but does her best. She is a member of the Symphonic Band and Jazz Band. She plans on attending Vero Beach High School and then to enlist in the United States Air Force, to serve her country and receive her college education. She hopes to enroll at Cornell or Dartmouth University and become a cop. Her outside activities are fishing, reading and playing games. In accepting her award Lissett said, “Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to be the best I can be, my family and teachers, this is truly an honor.”
German Hernandez travels with his family, who are farmers, between Ohio and Florida. He knows what it is like to face obstacles and challenges that could easily bring him down, but uses those challenges to become stronger. He is kind and polite and always respectful. He is a hard worker, kind, thoughtful and empathetic toward other students’ needs. German genuinely cares about his classmates, his family and his teachers. In accepting his award German said, “Thank you for my teachers who encourage me every day.”
Sarah Cosner is an IB Diploma Candidate with a weighted GPA of 4.639 and Class Rank of 4th. She is an AP Scholar, current Excel Club President, and past Excel Club Treasurer (2019-2020). She won the Exchange Club Presidential Award of Honor in May 2020. Sarah is a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) member serving as Florida District 17 President 2020-2021 and President of the SRHS Club.
She is a member of the National Honor Society and the SRHS Band serving as Drum Major 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. She has received 7 Superior ratings on saxophone for both solos and ensembles. Sarah founded “Forte to Feed” and hosted virtual concerts to raise money for local food banks during the Covid-19 pandemic. In her spare time, Sarah works as a server at Chick-Fil-A. In accepting her award Sarah thanked her parents, teachers and advisors for this “amazing honor.” She plans to attend Stetson or Duke to study Public Policy and become a Public Policy Analyst in Washington D.C.
Andres Ruiz is IB Diploma Candidate with a weighted GPA of 4.556 and Class Rank of 7th. He is an AP Scholar and member of the National Honor Society. Andres was awarded the American Legion Scholastic Excellence for leadership and academics two times. He was accepted to the United States Naval Academy Summer Seminar and a delegate to Boys State, both which were cancelled due to Covid. Andres is Coxswain on the SRHS crew team which won a State Championship and competed at National level. As a Scholar Athlete he was a Top 3 MIT Crew recruit for Coxswain. He serves as Operations Manager of the SRHS NJROTC unit and recipient of 4-year NROTC and ROTC scholarships. Andres takes Dual enrollment classes through Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He has received letters of Assurance from both the US Naval and US Miltary Academies.
He has volunteered over 400 hours with the National Parks Service. He loves studying Civil and World War History and Physics. In accepting his award Andres thanked our club, his family and said, “Learning comes first – hard work means a lot – wherever I go I will work hard. Thank you!”