Achievers

Two Moore MST Middle School students were recognized recently.

Marina Martinez received a $750 scholarship award from the East Texas State Fair. She placed first in the science fair in her division, and took first place in the Academic Challenge Quiz.

Rocquel Pettigrew won a $500 scholarship and placed first in science in her division.

The AAUW scholarship committee announced its selection of scholarship recipients for the 2008-09 school year.

— Angela Frost is a senior at John Tyler High School. She sings in the choir, pitches for the softball team, chairs the Pantry Raid benefiting the East Texas Food Bank, participates in debate, works up to 20 hours a week and earns grades high enough to put her in the Top 10 of her class. She was also named an Outstanding National Achievement Program Participant through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Angela will double major in finance and sports management at the University of Texas at Austin.

— Renee Gomez will attend Texas State University and major in education. She has an aptitude for languages, speaking Spanish and a little Japanese, Mandarin and Tagalog, and plans to use that skill in a career as an ESL teacher. She has taken International Baccalaureate classes since the sixth grade. At John Tyler High School, Renee is the managing editor of the newspaper, athletic trainer and a member of the National Honor Society. She also works as a soccer referee and in the city’s summer recreation program.

— Jessica Perry will graduate from TJC with a degree in general studies and then transfer to the University of Texas at Tyler to continue working toward her goal of becoming an attorney or CPA. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa at TJC, has earned her yellow belt in Taekwondo, and works during the summer to help pay for school. Jessica maintains a 3.78 GPA.

— Kayla Curry plans to study agriculture science at Texas A&M after graduating from TJC in May. Kayla has been involved in many livestock shows and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa. In high school, she was drum major of the band. Kayla has earned a 3.92 GPA while working 40 hours a week at four jobs.