New Student of the Week: JAG freshman Ariyon Martin wins the honor
Over the last two months, the Montgomery community has joined the Montgomery Advertiser in celebrating dozens of outstanding high school students for their academic achievements through the Student of the Week initiative.
This week, thousands of votes were cast, and the winner is Ariyon Martin, a freshman at Johnson, Abernathy & Graetz High School.
The honor aims to recognize the accomplishments of local high schoolers in the River Region described as high-achieving leaders and positive role models in their schools.
Ariyon's teachers call her "the epitome of a scholar." She is an awesome student on and off the court, and her work ethic earned her a spot on the varsity girls basketball team.
She approaches academics with the same vigor and tenacity as she does her sport. Her peers consider her the "ultimate perfectionist," and she pushes herself to excel in all that she undertakes. Ariyon routinely exceeds the expectations of her learning targets, does not shy away from increased rigor and supports her classmates in meeting their learning targets.
JAG administrators say Ariyon has worked extremely hard to perform well in her lessons, demonstrating she is well on her way to a successful career as a physician, which is her career goal.
Congratulations, Ariyon!
School administrators and high school teachers from across the Montgomery, Elmore and Autauga counties send in nominations of their top students, and readers get to pick the best of the best. The poll was open from the morning of Monday, March 18 to noon on Thursday, March 21.
New polls and nominees will be announced every week. If your school didn't nominate a student this week, there's always next week. Every high school in the outer Montgomery area is eligible to nominate one student a week who is exemplifying success in academics and community involvement, and schools may repeat nominations of students who have not year won the honor.
Ariyon was one of several amazing students nominated for this week's award. Here are the other impressive nominees:
Seung Jae "Andy" Lim, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School: Described as "a student of the highest order," Andy's teachers say he makes AP Calculus and AP Physics look easy. He is a National Merit Finalist and a four-year veteran of LAMP's competitive Vex robotics program. He has qualified for the Vex World Championship for 3 consecutive years, and his team this year was the Vex Champion in Robot Skills — a blend of autonomous programming and student driving. He is also a medalist in Science Olympiad and qualified for the state competition.
Makia Austin, Sidney Lanier High School: A senior at Lanier, Makia plans to major in social work in college next year and ultimately help kids heal their trauma. She takes great pride in completing her tasks to the best of her ability and has a strong passion about her future endeavors. Makia is described as a bright student with ambition. She currently has As in most of her classes and has been on the honor roll several times. Makia is always participating in school functions where she is given the opportunity to further develop her leadership skills and interpersonal skills. Lanier administrators say she is admired by students and teachers alike in the school.
Grayson Gazell, Prattville High School: Grayson is a model student who has above a 4.0 weighted GPA, is a PHS cheerleader and is a dancer with "Mane" dance. She is one of the most helpful students on campus to faculty, staff and students, and she always has a smile on her face. PHS administrators say she truly exemplifies the spirit of Prattville High School. Grayson will be attending Auburn University after graduation and has aspirations of becoming a Tiger Paw, a member of Auburn's dance team.
Bryson McGrew, Percy Julian High School: A junior at Percy Julian, Bryson plays football, basketball and runs track while maintaining a reputation as a highly driven student. For Bryson, his education always comes first. He is a member of numerous honor societies, including Mu Alpha Theta Honors Society, National English Honors Society and the National Honor Society. According to his teachers, Bryson is an outstanding student and representative for Percy Julian and Montgomery Public Schools overall.
Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Meet the new Student of the Week: JAG freshman Ariyon Martin
