Abington Heights
Four students at Abington Heights High School took home awards from a contest.
Maria Sunick, Allison Stroyan, Amber Loomis and Isabella Parker entered the General Federation of Women's Clubs Pennsylvania Civic League Art Contest and received awards at the local level.
miorfino@timesshamrock.com
Carbondale Area
Morgan Walsh won the excellency award for her behavioral psychology project and received a Distinguished Fellowship Award for $500 at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science.
She was among 21 students from Carbondale Area to receive awards in the competition. Morgan was honored with a cash award for her participation in PJAS for the past six years.
"I feel honored because the judges recognized all of my experience with PJAS and all of my hard work," she said. Morgan said the monetary award will help her with books and tuition for college this year.
She will present her project in May at the state meeting at Penn State University.
kbolus@timesshamrock.com
Career Technology Center
Lauren Fritz, a senior cosmetology student from Dunmore High School, has been nominated by her instructor for excellence in cosmetology.
Lauren has participated in the SKILLS USA district competition and received a bronze medal for nails. She works part time as an associate at Rite Aid and participated in "Color for Kids," which benefited the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. She plans to take her state board to become a Pennsylvania licensed cosmetologist in June, and after graduation, plans to obtain her associate degree in business administration.
shofius@timesshamrock.com
Delaware Valley
Junior Jeff Hupfer has learned leadership qualities through his membership in National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta. In addition to his school activities, Jeff is active with Holy Trinity Lutheran Church youth group and volunteers with vacation Bible school and Relay for Life.
"Volunteering has made me a more well-rounded person as well as bettering my understanding for people in need," he said.
Jeff also plays varsity baseball at school.
"I want to be remembered as a hardworking individual who can be counted on," Jeff said.
lzaccagnino@ timesshamrock.com
Dunmore
Kayleigh Semion was recently named Miss Buck for the 2014-2015 school year.
In her role, the junior will lead Dunmore High School's Crimsonettes marching units as they perform during field shows at football games and other functions.
Kayleigh has been twirling for the past 14 years and competed at several competitions on the national level, winning Miss East Coast.
"It's an activity that I enjoy and that has always been a part of my family," Kayleigh said of twirling.
She is the fourth girl from her immediate family to be Dunmore's Miss Buck, following her mother and two older sisters.
kwind@timesshamrock.com
Elk Lake
Drew Nunemacher furthered his love of firefighting for his senior project. He is a volunteer firefighter with United Fire Company of Montrose, which provides fire and rescue protection. "I've been a member there for two years, but for my project I did an essentials of firefighting course, which was 100-plus hours," Drew said. "My dad is also an instructor, so that was cool father/son time. It was passing down knowledge and skill from one generation to the next."
He plays volleyball at school and attends the Career Technology Center for carpentry, where the students just finished building a house.
Drew plans to be a career firefighter.
lzaccagnino @timesshamrock.com
Forest City Regional
Josh Notari's job in the school play is vital to putting on a great production.
He works backstage and makes sure the sets for the 12-scene production of "Beauty and the Beast" are in place.
The curtains wouldn't go up without his help. Josh helps out with special effects as well, like using a fog machine.
"What I love the most is getting to work with my hands, moving all the sets and being able to build the sets and see how everything works," he said.
Forest City Regional's production of "Beauty and the Beast" will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the high school auditorium.
Josh also plays the trumpet in band and is in the tech club, where he learns about computer programming and creating his own games and apps. Outside of school, Josh is a Boy Scout.
kbolus@timesshamrock.com
Lakeland
Gabriella Comes' musical ability earned her a spot in a regional band performance.
The seventh-grader represented her school at the Junior High Band Fest at Tunkhannock Area High School on Friday.
"I'm looking forward to being a part of a big orchestra," she said.
Gabriella played the clarinet in the regional ensemble.
miorfino@timesshamrock.com
Mid Valley
For the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science competition, Samantha Shelesky tested name-brand mouthwash vs. generic mouthwash.
What she found was that neither works as well as they advertise.
Using agar petri dishes, Samantha used both mouthwashes and then swabbed the inside of her mouth.
From the bacteria that grew, she determined which version worked better. What she found was that the generic worked better.
In a room with 10 students and three judges, Samantha said she was nervous at first but once she started her presentation she was fine.
A student council member and a member of the softball team, Samantha is in seventh grade and said she is excited to attend the state PJAS competition in May.
kbolus@timesshamrock.com
Montrose Area
After some hard work, Chris Ricci has the opportunity to gain hands-on education about the history of Pennsylvania and the National Rifle Association.
The sophomore earned acceptance into the PA Youth Education Summit.
Chris sent in an application, with three letters of recommendation, his GPA and an essay with his opinion of gun control. After his efforts, the sophomore became one of 23 students chosen in the state.
"I feel so honored to have been chosen for this opportunity to learn about the complex inner workings of Pennsylvania's government," Chris said. "I will truly enjoy joining my peers from across the state that share similar passions about our government."
The trip will include a visit to the Gettysburg Battlefield and state Capitol, among other stops.
jbaress@timesshamrock.com
Mountain View
Jake Farnham not only builds his own knowledge at school, but also teaches younger students. The sophomore read books to pre-kindergarten students and helped them develop fundamental skills as part of his Connections class. The books mostly focused on money, while the others taught cooperative play.
"The idea is to sharpen their minds," Jake said. "My friend and I do an activity as we read along so they would understand the concept of counting money."
In his time with the pre-K students, he said he learned a lot about early literacy and himself.
"It was a part of the curriculum but I would do it again in a heartbeat," Jake said. "It was a brilliant learning experience."
Jake wants to be a software engineer.
jbaress@timesshamrock.com
North Pocono
When Leah Jacobs reflects on her most memorable moment at North Pocono High School, she recalls the huge smile on the face of a special-needs student from Moscow Elementary Center after the student won second place in the 100-meter dash in Special Olympics.
The senior volunteers for Special Olympics each year and enjoys working with special-needs students. She also volunteers at the Scranton Red Cross chapter and all North Pocono blood drives.
Leah is vice president of student council, president of the Red Cross club and member of Teens Against Tobacco Use and the volleyball team.
She also has been selected as a soloist in the variety show each year and has performed the National Anthem at many of the basketball and volleyball games.
kwind@timesshamrock.com
Old Forge
Sophomore Katie Bound is ready to take the stage as Sandy in "Grease."
"This is my first real lead," she said. "It's a little ways away but I'm very excited."
No stranger to the stage, Katie has spent time with Act Out Theatre in Scranton.
She said the reprise of "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee," is her favorite song to perform in "Grease."
"It really shows her transformation," Katie said.
Katie also participates in the Leo club, is a member of the yearbook staff and a peer mediator, and hopes to start a drama club at Old Forge High School.
sscinto@timesshamrock.com
Riverside
Joseph Pacholec, a junior at Riverside Junior/Senior High School, combined deer antlers, turkey feathers and ceramics to make an award-winning sculpture.
His sculpture, "The Sacrifice," earned a gold medal in the 2014 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
Joseph created the sculpture for Denis Yanashot's 3-D art class, incorporating his interest in hunting into his work.
"The Sacrifice" will be displayed in June at the National Exhibition at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons the New School for Design in New York City. Joseph will be honored at the National Awards Ceremony at Carnegie Hall on June 6.
sscinto@timesshamrock.com
Scranton
Scranton High School senior John Ruby was accepted to Harvard University.
A member of the National Honor Society, John is an accomplished cellist, a member of the drama club's pit orchestra and is treasurer of the orchestra club.
A lifelong member of the Boy Scouts, John recently attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
shofius@timesshamrock.com
Scranton Prep
If Eric Muchisky does not do his job, the audience cannot hear the Prep Players.
The junior, who is assistant sound mixer, is responsible for controlling microphones during shows.
"We always say we're never seen but we're always heard," Eric said, laughing.
Eric also helps with microphones for Masses and school assemblies and has been busy helping the Players prepare for "The Music Man," which will be performed April 25-27 and May 2-4.
At Prep, he helps the school's technology department and is a member of the computer club. This summer, he will travel to South Dakota for a Prep service trip.
shofius@timesshamrock.com
Susquehanna Community
For Pennies for Patients, Michael Armitage and Michael Pelicci collected much more than loose change.
For their senior project, the sophomores raised $813.88 for the foundation, which focuses on children with leukemia and lymphoma.
"I didn't think we would do that well," Michael Armitage said. "I was really happy with the results and what we made."
The sophomores placed coin collection boxes in the classrooms of the elementary and high schools. They organized a hat day, where students paid $1 to wear a hat, and a "silence a teacher day," where students paid $1 to vote for the teacher that they would like to silence for a day. English teacher Hannah Taylor received the most votes.
"That was just one of the fundraisers we thought people would like the most," Michael Armitage said. "She couldn't say anything. She would have to write on the board or on notebook paper."
Both students play sports, participate in Envirothon and enjoy hunting and fishing.
jbaress@timesshamrock.com
Valley View
Alexa Feduchak's grandmother died from pancreatic cancer, and her passing inspired Alexa to help out with the district's Coaches vs. Cancer event.
"I think it is very important to spread awareness of this disease and help raise money to find a cure," she said.
A member of student council and Leo club, Alexa is in her senior year. She is also in Students Against Destructive Decisions, National Honor Society and math honor society and is part of the track and field team.
kbolus@timesshamrock.com
Western Wayne
Paige Fratamico, vice president of the National Art Honor Society, was recently recognized as an outstanding senior in the district.
She has made the distinguished honor roll every quarter throughout high school.
The senior also volunteers at Dessin Animal Shelter.
After graduation, she plans to pursue nursing at Penn State Worthington Scranton campus.
kwind@timesshamrock.com
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