Who was the central Ohio high school Student of the Week? Your votes decide
The nominations for The Dispatch's Student of the Week initiative are in, and now it's time for you to pick the best of the best.
Voting is open until noon Thursday, March 7.
Participating high school principals, teachers and guidance counselors nominated students they say have shown outstanding academic and school achievement and community service.
Last week's winner: Licking Heights' Sakariye Abdullahi named Dispatch Student of the Week
We will announce the winner and runner-up on Friday.
To cast a vote, visit the poll at the bottom of the list of nominees.
If you can't see the ballot when you scroll to the bottom of this story, try refreshing the link or clearing the cache in your browser. Voters can cast one vote per hour per device. You do not have to be a subscriber to vote.
Please be aware: The Dispatch's voting system recognizes only one vote per WiFi IP address, so consider taking your phone off WiFi to vote each hour if you're sharing it with multiple people.
The nominees for March 4:
Mark "Ezra" Bobo, Licking Heights: “Ezra is an outstanding student and has a bright future ahead. He is also a student-athlete and was an important member of his basketball team at Licking Heights. He is a senior representative of the local school board. He has been a regular honor roll recipient, carrying a 3.5 GPA throughout his four years at Licking Heights. He is also a COLA member and an OSU SLRC Graduate. He is still considering his collegiate options in a potential engineering program. He also has a few opportunities to continue playing basketball at the college level.”
Samantha Goldsmith, Northridge: “Samantha had her audition for The Ohio State University School of Music two weeks ago. She heard back over the weekend that she was accepted into their School of Music and can study saxophone performance for her undergraduate degree. Ohio State is a very competitive school to get into, and her making it speaks to the practice both in and out of the classroom. Samantha is an honor student and participates in school musicals, jazz band, pep band, chamber choir and marching band. Samantha auditioned and made it into the state honor band and received a superior rating (A) in her solo contest.”
Alex Homan, London: “London senior Alex Homan has a 4.49 GPA. Alex has played varsity soccer for four years and is a three-time captain of the team. In soccer, Alex was named to the CBC second team twice. He was also a CBC Athlete of the Month and received the Defensive MVP and Red Raider soccer awards. Alex is a four-year member of the tennis team and has received a team award for leadership and the CBC Tennis Sportsmanship award. Alex played two years of basketball and one year both of varsity track and field and cross country. In addition to his participation in sports, Alex had a part in the high school musical “Hello Dolly” and more recently played the part of “Rolf” in the London Arts Council production of “The Sound of Music.” Alex participated in a cultural learning trip to Costa Rica with the LHS Spanish program.”
Roselin Maldanado, DeSales: “Roselin is a member of the SFD marching band, a basketball cheerleader, a Student Ambassador and a Student Council representative. She is in Advanced Placement courses as a sophomore and has been on Honor Roll throughout her high school career. Roselin was also chosen to be a leader at the recent Guadalupe Youth Summit.”
Jacob Rafferty, Lakewood: “Jacob has been an active student while at Lakewood High School. He has strived for excellence in all of his activities. Overall, Jacob has made a positive impact on Lakewood High School and our surrounding community. His activities and contributions at LHS: Senior Year Activities: Blood drive coordinator - 60 pints donated; toy drive coordinator; worked with the Bair Foundation to provide bikes and gifts for a foster family; volunteer at Licking County Aging Society; student representative on the Lakewood Local Schools Board of Education; Varsity Quiz Bowl; student council vice president; head of the Student Council Community Service Committee; currently first in his class with a 4.331 GPA; earned 20 CCP credit hours and 21 AP credit hours (taking seven AP Classes); has earned the AP Scholar Award designation. Overall Activities: Varsity cross country, freshman through junior year; varsity wrestling, freshman through junior year; varsity track, freshman through sophomore year; Student Council vice president, sophomore through senior year; Quiz Bowl member; StemFest member, junior year; worked throughout high school, end of freshman year through senior year.”
Jonathan Redmon, Canal Winchester: “Despite facing adversity with two emergency surgeries in January, Jonathan's commitment to his education remained unwavering. During his recovery period, Jonathan demonstrated exceptional dedication by independently studying Calculus BC. Although he was away from the classroom, his determination to excel did not falter. Upon his return, Jonathan achieved the highest score in the class on the unit test after being out for over a week recovering, a testament to his resilience and academic prowess. Jonathan's academic achievements extend beyond math. Maintaining straight A's and a 4.1 GPA, he tackles a challenging course load that includes three AP courses and two computer science/programming classes, integral components of our Cisco Certification pathway. His consistent excellence and dedication to his studies exemplify the qualities we value in our students.”
Hailey Tessman, Westerville North: “Hailey Tessman is the ideal student for any classroom. She works hard to not just get her school work completed but to truly understand the content. She also opts in to help any student who is struggling and has an all-around great way about her. Hailey is ranked No. 1 in her class of 308 students and has a career GPA of 4.9. She is an active member in her school community, as editor in chief of her school's digital newspaper publication and participating in Hope Squad and Young Feminists. She is also a four-year varsity letter-winner on the girls golf team.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Vote now in The Columbus Dispatch Student of the Week poll
