Southwestern Heights Students Recognized at Awards Assembly

At the senior awards assembly on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, the following awards and scholarships were presented.
Celeste Donovan, Vice President of Student Services and Annette Hackbarth-Onson, Dean of Student Services from Seward County Community College, presented the Presidential Scholarship to Denise Corral. This award is based on GPA, recommendations, and will be for books and tuition. Crystal Torres, Marketing Director, and Robert Millie, CFO, of Artesian Valley Health Systems presented two scholarships to students interested in pursuing a degree in the medical field. The award winners were Dianna Olvera and Sydnie Underwood. Ruby Terrazas from Southern Pioneer Electric presented a scholarship to Sydnie Underwood. Seaboard Foods, presented two scholarships, the Seaboard Family Scholarship to Diana Hernandez and the Seaboard Foods Community Scholarship to Sydnie Underwood. Other area scholarship winners were Paige Campbell, receiving the Pheasant Heaven Charities Scholarship; Coleby Reiss received the Kismet United Methodist Church Scholarship; and Dianna Olvera, Yanely Puentes, and Jentre Smith each received a St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Altar Society Scholarship. Diana Hernandez was awarded a Hagan Foundation Scholarship, which provides up to $6,000 a semester to pay unmet educational costs.
Aside from the scholarships presented, many awards were given to honor students for their achievements. Sydnie Underwood was presented with a Certificate for Exceptional Academic Performance for being a Kansas ACT Scholar for achieving a composite score of 32 or above. Sydnie was also recognized by the College Board National Recognition Program receiving the National Indigenous Recognition for Academic Excellence. Valedictorians, Audrey Ball and Sydnie Underwood, and Salutatorians, Denise Corral and Diana Hernandez, received honorary certificates and medals for earning those titles. The Kansas Board of Regents Curriculum completers were recognized for having completed the curriculum set by the Kansas Board of Regents as the Kansas Scholars’ Curriculum. This includes completing 4 years of English, 4 years of Math, 3 years of Science (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics), 3 years of Social Science, and 2 years of Foreign Language. The seniors recognized were Audrey Ball and Sydnie Underwood. They also have been designated as Kansas State Scholars based on their ACT scores and GPA. They will have the opportunity to complete the Kansas State Scholarship. The Dale Dennis Excellence in Education Award which has been established by the Kansas School Administrators as a state-wide award to honor Dale Dennis for his long and valuable service to Kansas education. Mr. Dennis has helped provide the leadership for financial support and academic excellence in Kansas schools. In selecting student recipients state-wide, the following criteria were considered: Citizenship, Service, Scholarship, and Common Sense. This year, Branden Stanfield was selected for this award. The Iron Mustang Award, which is given to students who participate in 3 sports for 4 years in high school was given to Audrey Ball, Fiona Friessen, Dianna Olvera, and Yanely Puentes. The final recognition was the High Plains League Academic Awards. These awards recognize student athletes who combine excellence in both academics and athletics. The HPL wants to make the public aware of the student-athletes who represent our league schools in their athletic endeavors while also being responsible classroom participants. To be eligible, students must earn a Varsity Letter in a KSHSAA Athletic sponsored activity. Students that have a 3.75 or higher cumulative GPA are named All League and those with a 3.5 to 3.74 cumulative GPA will be named Honorable Mention.
Here are your All-League Academic award winners: Seniors: Fiona Friessen and Anastasia Alvidrez; juniors: Lucy Vajnar, Roxy Stone, Samantha Banman, and Kaleb Scripsick; sophomore: Emma Stanfield, and freshmen: Adeline Woods, Karen Mendoza, Jaelynn McHenry, and Juanita Puentes.
Honorable Mention Academic award winners are: Seniors; Yanely Puentes, Branden Stanfield, and Dianna Olvera; juniors: Breckin Buttry, Tanya Garcia, Ivan Gomez, and Adan Puentes; sophomores: Alexanddra Castro, Victor Testa, and Amanda Thirakul; and freshmen: Jason Banman, Cinthya Garcia, and Elijah Kisner.