By Laura Burdette
Today, high school students are bombarded with demands. Choosing a career path, applying to colleges, taking the SATs and ACTs, enrolling in honors and college-level courses and finding time to fit in extra-curricular activities to make their college applications shine are just one side of the coin. They must also balance homework, family, friends and part-time jobs.
In reviewing editorial for this issue of the magazine, the partners at Executive Ink decided that the Young Guns/Education issue would provide an excellent opportunity to highlight some of the high school students in West Virginia that go above and beyond the demands of education.
We contacted high schools throughout the state, public and private, and asked for nominations for outstanding students who not only excel in the classroom but also on the athletic field, within their communities and when presented with the opportunity to be leaders. Our goal was to highlight the students that stand out above the rest, that set examples for their peers and that continually reach for the stars.
West Virginia Executive is proud to present to you our stellar students.
Alexander Butcher, Senior
Clay County High School, Clay, WV
A member of the National Honor Society, Alex Butcher is dedicated to being an active part of his school rather than sitting on the sidelines. Butcher, who has a GPA of 3.85, has been class president and a member of the student council all four years of high school. He has served as Clay County High’s representative for both the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership program and the Governor’s Honors Academy, a program for the top 2 percent of 11th grade students in West Virginia that offers a glimpse of college life while providing a variety of educational and travel opportunities. Butcher participates in every Math Field Day event and holds a spot on the golf, baseball and basketball teams. During his four years on the student council, he has helped with projects at the school that include blood drives, recycling drives, homecoming event planning and the coordination of other school functions. Taking into consideration his dedication to grades, extra-curricular activities and simply the general well-being of his school, Butcher is sure to be noticed when applying for schools of medicine in the future.
Amanda Davis, Senior
Liberty High School, Clarksburg, WV
With the amount of hard work Amanda Davis has put in at Liberty High, it is no wonder why she received the 2010 West Virginia Scholar Full-Tuition Scholarship to West Virginia Wesleyan. Davis began her high school career by joining the co-ed soccer team and she was named captain of the girls’ varsity soccer team in her sophomore and junior years. In addition, she has been a member of both the varsity basketball and varsity softball teams since her freshman year. Davis has been recognized as Athlete of the Week by WBOY Big Book, BB&T/The Exponent Telegram and Harrison County EMS/The Shinnston Journal. She has been named Student of the Month, is a member of the French Honorary and the National Honor Society and serves as the 12th grade student body treasurer. She also participates in Gear Up, a federal grant program that encourages students to go to college. Davis contributes to her community by serving meals at the Salvation Army, being a Red Cross Blood Drive volunteer and donor, participating on the Mayor’s Youth Council and being a junior volunteer for the Women’s Auxiliary at United Hospital.
Bronson Clark, Senior
Calhoun High School, Mount Zion, WV
Bronson Clark stands out at Calhoun High School as both a member of the National Honor Society and as a member of the student government in which he has served as class vice president during his freshman, sophomore and senior years and as a student council representative his junior year. As the senior class vice president, Clark is currently working to develop a peer mediation program as a means of improving the school’s climate. In addition to acting as a representative for Calhoun High for the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership program, Clark, who holds a GPA of 4.0, has received many academic awards and recognitions that include Student of the Month and being named to the Mu Alpha Theta and Principal’s Lists. This Golden Horseshoe recipient plays basketball and is the team captain of the football and baseball teams. As a strong role model in his community, Clark participates in multiple fundraisers and non-profit projects such as Learn and Serve, community charity dinners, nursing home visitations, litter clean-up, the local food pantry and the Church Outreach Program, which involved the Disaster Relief Mission to Southern West Virginia in 2009.
Joseph Davis, Senior
Oak Glen High School, New Cumberland, WV
As Oak Glen High’s senior class president, Joseph Davis has learned to utilize his position as a means of giving back to both his school and his community. As a participant in the Weirton Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership Program, a group leader for the High School Business Symposium and a student representative for the Local School Improvement Council and the West Virginia Board of Education, Davis has learned to take advantage of every opportunity and apply what he learns to make his school and community better. Davis spear-headed the senior class project, which he had to sell to the school’s superintendent and the Board of Education. The project, entitled “Archway to the Field of Dreams,” resulted in the construction of a brick archway at the entrance of the school’s new sports complex. Davis’ dedication resulted in raising $25,000, which covers the cost of the project. Academically, he continues to challenge himself with classes that include Honors English, trigonometry, AP calculus, advanced chemistry, organic chemistry and advanced biology, maintaining his spot on the High Honor Roll. Davis is a four-year letterman in his schools’ golf program and participates in the school’s pep band and concert band.
Rachel Hoffpauir, Senior
Magnolia High School, New Martinsville, WV
Rachel Hoffpauir is ahead of the game when it comes to achievements. Upon graduation from Magnolia High, she will have earned 19 credit hours from West Liberty University and WV Northern Community College. Hoffpauir, who maintains a 4.0 GPA, served as the junior class president, during which she time conducted many fundraisers and organized the junior/senior prom. She earned an appointment to the WV Governor’s School for the Arts in theatre during the summer following 10th grade, represented her school as a speaker in The American Legion Oratorical Contest and was a state finalist in Poetry Out Loud. In addition, she is currently president of Thespian Troupe Number 531 and is a two-year member of the WV State Thespian Student Board. She maintains special memberships in the math honorary, Mu Alpha Theta; the Science Honor Society and the National Honor Society. Hoffpauir is the field commander of her school’s marching band and a member of the cross-country team. Within her community, she participates in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life, the Esther Crumbly food drive and Kids College.
Karla Nyhuis, Senior
Covenant School, Huntington, WV
Ranked at the top of her class this year, Karla Nyhuis is constantly trying to bring exciting events to Covenant School by organizing student-led activities such as school dances, a fall retreat, a Thanksgiving feast and a student prayer group. At the same time, she is focused on her studies, earning the privilege of being on the High Honor Roll from 9th through 11th grade. Nyhuis’ hard work can also be seen when considering her awards and recognitions—a silver medal and magna cum laude on the National Latin Exam, five blue ribbons from the State Latin Convention, her team placing third in the Cabell County Math Field Day three years in a row and her choir placing second in their category in Music in the Parks. Nyhuis, who has been studying ballet for 12 years, has earned three silver medals and eight gold medals from the American Academy of Ballet and has passed the second and third of six vocational level exams from the Royal Academy of Dance in England. Nyhuis also participates in the school’s drama program, is a member of Covenant’s volleyball team, holds a part-time job and volunteers at ECCHO Community Pantry in Milton, the Community Pantry of Hurricane and Cabell Huntington Hospital.
Sophia Tran, Senior
George Washington High School, Charleston, WV
With her sights set on being an honor graduate, Sophia Tran holds an impressive 3.73 GPA and exhibits excellent attendance despite her busy schedule. She has devoted a great deal of her time to her community by participating in such organizations as Labor 4 Neighbor and the Gabriel Project. Tran participated in the Timely Program, a 13-month program that encourages youth leaders to help out the community and church more effectively, and was the only participant out of 10 to graduate from the program. During the program, she helped the Roosevelt Family Center by working with underprivileged children and helped clean up the Celebration Station playground. As her individual project, she organized the production of Living Stations of the Cross at Blessed Sacrament. Tran volunteers for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure every year and has served meals at Fish Frydays at St. Anthony Church during Lent. Tran is also an active member in her school’s sports and arts programs, receiving the honor of Most Improved Player of the Year in Lacrosse in 2010 and organizing a trip to King’s Island for the show choir.
Haley Yochum, Senior
Linsly School, Wheeling, WV
Haley Yochum currently holds the position as Linsly’s Head Prefect, which is a form of student government that is based on a point system with high regard to academic achievements beginning freshman year. Yochum, a member of both the National Honors Society and the National German Honors Society from 2008 to present day, is editor of both the school’s newspaper and yearbook, as well as secretary/treasurer of the senior class. She is active on the school’s forensics debate team and in Upper School Play, Linsly’s drama club. Yochum is also a member of the Animal Shelter Club, Art Club, Children’s Museum Club, Environmental Club, German Club, History Club, Multicultural Club, Rachel’s Challenge Club, SADD Club and Shakespeare Club and is the officer/treasurer of the Key Club. She played basketball in 2007 and 2008, ran track from 2007 to 2010 and cross-country from 2007 to present and has been captain of the cross-country team from 2009 to present. In the midst of being involved with her school as much as she can, Yochum has still found time to do volunteer work for the 18th Street Center Soup Kitchen and the Wheeling Hospital Gift Shop while maintaining a part-time job.
