Provide the student’s name, age, grade, school name, telephone number and/or email; a quote about the student from a school staff member; and the name and contact information of the nominator.
Guy T. Simpson, III
Age: 18.
School: Yelm High School in Yelm.
Parents or guardians: Guy and Rae Simpson.
Best personal achievement: Maintaining a 3.35 GPA while my mother was in the hospital fighting cancer. I recently won the “It’s Always Something” Teen Writing Contest sponsored by Gilda’s Club Seattle. It’s a writing contest for teens who have been touched by cancer either through a personal diagnosis or that of a family member or friend.
How I spend my time: Running or playing basketball, hanging out with my family and playing video games.
Favorite subjects: English and chemistry.
Favorite movie: “Toy Story” (1, 2, and 3).
Favorite book: Comic books.
Dream job: Professional basketball player.
Someone I respect: My mom. She inspires others with her positive attitude and her ongoing fight to beat cancer.
The hardest part of being a student is: Dealing with peer pressure.
My future ambitions or career aspirations include: Being an orthodontist and helping others have a confident smile.
Someone famous I would like to meet: Jim Carrey or “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Someday, looking back on my life, I’ll be able to say: “That even on the hardest, most challenging days, I was able to hold my head high and stay focused on the important things in life with my ultimate goal to go to college and succeed in life.”
Biggest challenge facing teenagers today: Bullies. They are everywhere, including at school, online and at after school activities.
One thing in the world I would change if I could: Stereotypes. Don’t label or judge people until you get to know them.
Nominated by: Business teacher Karla Blowers. She wrote: “Guy has consistently taken challenging, high level classes, including several Advanced Placement classes. He also is very active and involved in school. … Guy is a very dedicated, hard-working student, who is very talented in many ways.”
Jose Oliva
Age: 15.
School: North Thurston High School in Lacey.
Parents or guardians: Maria and Rafael Oliva.
Best personal achievement: Getting a college-bound scholarship in eighth grade is my best personal achievement.
How I spend my time: Helping my mother with her child care business.
Favorite subjects: Math and social studies.
Favorite movie: “Toy Story 2.”
Favorite book: “Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare” by Darren Shan.
Dream job: Pilot.
Someone I respect: My parents.
The hardest part of being a student is: Balancing schoolwork and having fun.
My future ambitions or career aspirations include: To be the best pilot ever.
Someone famous I would like to meet: Steve Jobs, co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple.
Someday, looking back on my life, I’ll be able to say: “I flew across the Pacific Ocean.”
Biggest challenge facing teenagers today: Keeping grades up and staying out of trouble.
One thing in the world I would change if I could: I would change all of the racism in the world.
Nominated by: Social studies teacher Georgie Niles. She wrote: “Jose is such a great guy. He is an excellent student with a great sense of humor. He is so easy and fun to be around. Jose spends much of his free time working at Oliva’s Daycare.”
