Two dozen seniors at Nease and Ponte Vedra high schools were among 83 St. Johns County students to be honored for academic achievement recently at the annual Students Taking Academic Responsibility (STAR) Awards Banquet.
Held April 6 at the World Golf Village Renaissance Resort, the STAR Awards recognize the top 3 percent of all graduating seniors in the county. Eleven Ponte Vedra High School and 13 Nease High School seniors were honored at the event, which is jointly sponsored by Flagler Hospital and the St. Johns County School Board.
“Flagler Hospital is pleased to bring this very special event to our community in recognition of our county’s top students, their parents and their mentors,” President and CEO Joe Gordy said. “St. Johns County’s ongoing success would not be possible without our area’s stellar educational system, led by Dr. Joe Joyner and the dedicated members of our school board.”
During the recognition ceremony principals introduced each student and then a special mentor selected by the student. Principals shared their STAR students’ future plans and why they selected the teacher they chose to honor. In addition to making top grades, these students are involved in athletics, performing groups, school clubs and community service.
The local STAR student award recipients and their mentors include:
Allen D. Nease High School – Noah Ari with Jaime Combs; Sanjana Bhargava with Amy Banton; Gabriela Castello with Derek Coghlan; Nicolas Cort with Chris Williams; Alex Jasper with Marta Senyszyn; Angelica Lagasca with H.A. Smith; Aaron Lemos with A.J. Lloyd; Divya Mahesh with Debra Tewey; Tala Mansouri with Kim Hollis; Abigail Prohofsky with Rosa Maria Weaver; Nidhi Suresh with Holly Farson; Stephanie Thompson with Melissa Bourgeois; and Kyle Wai with Matt Augenstein.
Ponte Vedra High School – Abhimanyu Ahuja with Randy Blake; Margaret Barnhorst with John Weinbrenner; Megan Calvin with Catherine Snowden; Yooree Ha with Katilyn Collazo; Matthew Johnson; Nicole Johnson; John Molm with James Johnson; William O’Hara with Christine Kochan; Darryl Oswald with Christophe McArthur; Marissa Reinker with Randy Blake; and Cassia Wang with Kathryn Kehoe
