Thirteen Westfield Washington Schools students were recognized March 20 during the ninth annual Westfield Youth Assistance Program Youth Recognition Celebration Breakfast.
The event recognizes youth in the community who have overcome adversity at home or in school, have demonstrated a profound positive change in attitude or behavior, have overcome a significant obstacle at home or school or have made an extraordinary academic positive turnaround.
School staff submits nominations to WYAP. A selection committee vets the nominations and chooses the recipients. Nominees span all grade levels. This year, students ranged from first through eighth grade.
At the breakfast, nominators presented on the nominees, and then the nominees received an award and words of encouragement from Westfield Mayor Andy Cook.
“So many of them have overcome things in their lives, all the way from the deaths and the illnesses to the kinds of things we really only read about it, most of us, and we think we have troubles, huh?” Cook said. “These kids show us the reality, and I’m so proud of all of them.”
Students honored were:
- Joshua Kleckner Jr., a first-grade student at Carey Ridge
- Jasmine Cox, a second-grade student at Maple Glen
- Genesis Montes Flores, a second-grade student at Washington Woods
- Kiana Mason, a second-grade student at Maple Glen
- Brayden Pierce, a second-grade student at Maplen Glen
- Henry Brand, a third-grade student at Washington Woods
- Landon Montgomery Hammack, a fourth-grade student at Monon Trail
- Eric Keller, a fourth-grade student at Oak Trace
- Kathia Carias Herrera, a sixth-grade student at Westfield Intermediate School
- Jeremiah Lawless, a sixth-grade student at Westfield Intermediate School
- Maddison Polley, an eighth-grade student at Westfield Middle School
- Maya Schwartz, an eighth-grade student at Westfield Middle School
- Hayden Stalcup, an eighth-grade student at Westfield Middle School
