Abington Heights
Having watched his grandmother suffer from a type of Alzheimer's disease, Sean Boland is determined to raise awareness, and money for research.
For his senior project, the junior is hosting a rock concert for Alzheimer's awareness.
Though a location hasn't been set yet, Sean said it will likely be held at Duffy's Coffee House in Clarks Summit on Jan. 25.
"I have seen how difficult it can be to live with Alzheimer's disease," he said. "It's terrible. This is just an effort to help the cause."
miorfino@timesshamrock.com
Blue Ridge
The destruction at Seaside Heights, N.J., by Superstorm Sandy was especially troubling for one senior at Blue Ridge.
Stephanie Button has been vacationing at the devastated shore since she was about 5 or 6. Just before Christmas, Stephanie decided to organize a fundraiser to send toys to the families affected by the storm.
In coordination with the Leo Club, students at the high school were allowed to wear a hat all day in exchange for a $1 donation. Stephanie used the $300 raised to buy toys at 5 Below. She drove the toys to the Jersey Shore. Although she wasn't able to get past the police station, Stephanie got the chance to experience the aftermath and was surprised at just how much sand the storm dispersed.
Stephanie is also on the yearbook staff and is waiting to hear if she has been accepted at Temple University in Philadelphia.
kbolus@timesshamrock.com
Carbondale Area
Arlena Adamski used her own experience to inspire her senior project.
The senior sold paper footballs during school and at the Senior Night football game to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
"I did like doing this as my senior project because I have some muscle problems in my leg which are stopping me from participating in future sports," she said. "Because of this, I understand just a slight bit of what people afflicted with this illness go through. It was a very rewarding experience."
rbrown@timesshamrock.com
Delaware Valley
One senior at Delaware Valley High School has proven to be a standout member of the Scholastic Bowl Team.
This November, Tyler Masker led his Scholastic Bowl team to finish first out of 20 teams competing at the Northern Pennsylvania History Bowl Championship at Wyoming Valley West High School.
"Being involved has given me the skills to be ready for the real world," Tyler said. "They have also given me the opportunity to compete at the highest levels in both state and national competitions."
Tyler is also chairman of the political awareness club and a member of Future Business Leaders of America, the Model U.N. and National Honor Society. He volunteers with local highway cleanups, food pantries and various community dinners.
"I am a realist. I want to be remembered for whatever impact I had on my fellow students and the teachers I had the opportunity to learn from in my time at DV," he said.
kbolus@timesshamrock.com
Dunmore
Dunmore High School's health careers club held a blood drive with the American Red Cross in December for students at the high school.
Seniors Cory Jones and Matthew O'Connor led the blood drive, which involved publicizing the event, organizing a bake sale for the same day and recruiting volunteers. They also supervised the blood drive and cared for students who donated blood.
Both Cory and Matthew said they appreciated the opportunity to help others.
"It feels good to give back to the community and potentially save lives as the Red Cross is a great foundation," Cory said.
Matthew said he was pleased with the turnout and the overall success.
"The students were enthusiastic about donating blood, and we had many who donated for the first time," he said.
rward@timesshamrock.com
Elk Lake
Tim Marbaker, a senior, restored a tractor for his graduation project. "I grew up on a farm and I wanted a nice piece of equipment to start farming with, so I just restored," Tim said. He did roughly 40 hours of work on the project.
He is a member of the golf team at school. Tim plans on getting his CDL after graduation.
lzaccagnino@ timesshamrock.com
Forest City
Waiting to hear his team called was the hardest part of the Future Business Leaders of America regional competition.
Senior Drew Stark explained that the tests about banking and financial systems were tough, but waiting to hear how his team had fared was worse.
Luckily for Drew, they won.
He and his team will compete at the state competition next.
"I learned that you have to know what you're doing with this kind of stuff," he said of the subject matter, which he explained has real-world application. "It helped me further in life."
rbrown@timesshamrock.com
Lackawanna Trail
As the president of the freshman class, Jacob Furneaux is already focused on raising money for a trip that is still several years away.
The freshman said student council is working on a number of fundraising ideas that will cover the cost of their senior trip, graduation and yearbook.
"It may seem like a long way away, but this is an important time for us in the collection process," he said. "We want to raise a certain amount of money each year so we will be in good shape our senior year."
Jacob is a member of the school's cross-country team.
miorfino@timesshamrock.com
Lakeland
Anastasia Muncie has been in the school's marching band for seven years, but this year she is taking on a new responsibility.
As drum major, the senior is responsible for providing commands to the ensemble regarding where to march, what to play and what time to keep.
"It is a lot of pressure, but it is something I have been working toward since I started playing," she said. "It's a great feeling, facing everyone and conducting the performance."
Anastasia said her favorite subject is Spanish, which she started learning in seventh grade.
"I always wanted to be bilingual, and it just so happened that Spanish clicked with me right away," she said.
miorfino@timesshamrock.com
Mid Valley
When Angel Wilbur was in second grade, she took home a national title in the PTA Reflections competition for dance.
Now a seventh-grader, she is hoping to replicate her success, this time in the film production category.
Both of her films, which won gold and silver honors at the council level, related to this year's theme: The Magic of a Moment.
One of her films was about her relationship with her boyfriend, and the other focused on stopping bullying.
"I think it would be really amazing to go all the way again," she said. "I would be really proud of what I did and it would be a real honor."
rbrown@timesshamrock.com
Montrose Area
In the Montrose community, some serious fundraising efforts were made to help with both the annual Angel Baskets and Schools for Sandy.
Members of the community, including the students at Montrose Area High School, collected supplies and monetary donations for both charities.
Donnie Arnold, a junior at Montrose Area High School, helped out in a big way with Angel Baskets. Donnie has been a member of the Key club for three years and is helping to ensure the baskets reach the families around the community.
"I pack the Angel Baskets, and just this year have been able to hand them out to the families," Donnie said.
kbolus@timesshamrock.com
Mountain View
Fourth-grader Avery Tompkins received a perfect score on the math portion of the PSSA test.
Avery, who also likes swimming and sports, said she studied extremely hard for the test. She said math is her favorite subject.
She also participates in dance class and baseball.
kbolus@timesshamrock.com
Old Forge
Old Forge High School student Mary Cosentini could have written about any number of doctors for a health careers student essay contest but she chose her aunt, Patricia Larson, a home health care registered nurse with Allied Home Health Care.
The idea panned out and Mary won.
"I wrote how she is very compassionate toward the people she works with," Mary, 16, said. "Also she is a person to talk to, a good listener. She's a friend to them."
jkohut@timesshamrock.com
Scranton
Senior Ed Roach will be representing West Scranton High School this week at the 2013 PMEA District 9 Orchestra Festival. The event, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, features top student musicians from Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.
This week's event will be at Marywood University.
shofius@timesshamrock.com
Scranton Prep
Sophomore Gabrielle Durr, along with her friend, sophomore Sophia Rinaldi, organized "Summit Sings for Sandy Hook" - a benefit concert Dec. 30 at Duffy's Coffee House in Clarks Summit.
The event raised almost $1,000 for the Newtown Family Recovery Fund.
"We figured there was something we could do," Gabrielle said. "We were really happy that it actually paid off."
shofius@timesshamrock.com
Tunkhannock Area
Whether it's hunting or fishing, Wade Weber has always enjoyed the outdoors.
But since the senior joined the school's Future Farmers of America club, he has gained even more appreciation for the wilderness.
"My favorite part was being on the winning team in the aquatics and wildlife portion of the local Forestry and Wildlife CDE," he said, referring to the Career Development Event.
Wade was also a member of the team that finished in second place for the Ag Mechanics portion.
miorfino@timesshamrock.com
Valley View
Natalie DiGregorio is a varsity basketball cheerleader, a dancer and a cancer survivor.
The sophomore will draw on all of those life experiences as the chairwoman of the upcoming Coaches v. Cancer event.
The Valley View girls basketball team will host West Scranton on Jan. 30, and Natalie will lead halftime activities, as well as a survivor walk. Raffles, memory cards and T-shirts will be available for sale at the event, which begins at 6 p.m.
"I am so proud to have the opportunity to represent Valley View in the Coaches v. Cancer game and activities," she said. "Helping others know they are not alone in the fight against cancer is important to their recovery."
rbrown@timesshamrock.com
Western Wayne
Kevin Lopatofsky's senior project explored the many aspects of a state trooper's career.
He participated in State Police Youth Week, a law enforcement program that included many aspects of state police boot camp, and shadowed one of the district's school resource officers as he investigated a suspicious death case.
Kevin hopes to attend the State Police Academy but is also interested in earning his nursing degree "to make sure I am well prepared for my future."
rward@timesshamrock.com