Board of School Trustees honors 16 exhibiting core values at Jan. 9 meeting
During the most recent school board meeting on Jan. 9, 16 Huntington County Community School Corporation members were invited to be recognized for displaying HCCSC core values. Students and staff that received recognitions were grouped and called forward by Executive Secretary Cindy Gray and thanked and congratulated by Superintendent John Trout. Director of Secondary Education Chuck Brimbury then gave a brief summary of their achievement.
After being verbally recognized, different members of the Board of School Trustees gave the individuals an official certificate in honor of their core value and took a picture with the individuals to remember the moment.
Audrie Bowman, a senior at Huntington North High School, was first awarded for displaying the core value of Shared Leadership. Bowman is the recent winner of the University of Saint Francis’s annual Pay It Forward Scholarship, a scholarship that encompasses all tuition and fees for four years, a value of $140,000.
Bowman earned this scholarship after filling out an application and spending a lot of time showing why she deserved the scholarship.
Bowman and her father were victims of an unfortunate car crash during her childhood. While Bowman made it out of the wreck, her father did not survive. She used this loss to fuel her future with helping others and “paying it forward.”
“Helping people is a huge part, I think, of everybody’s life,” Bowman said in an interview with WANE 15. “To be able to take things that you’ve learned and to be able to help other people through it, especially with Riley Dance Marathon, I get to help so many amazing kids that are going through so many treatments that they might not be able to pay for.”
Bowman is the president of the Riley Dance Marathon at HNHS and was one of the creators of a support group for fellow students who have lost a parent.
Recognized next was HNHS senior Janna Teusch, earning the core value of High Expectations, High Achievement and Accountability. Teusch recently won the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship through the Community Foundation of Huntington County.
The Lilly Endowment Scholarship is an annual scholarship awarded to one senior student who resides in Huntington County. The winners of the scholarship are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character and leadership. The scholarship covers full tuition and fees as well as an annual $900 stipend for textbooks.
Teusch has taken a liking to learning about the education process and plans to continue and plans to major in elementary education at Taylor University. She enjoys the idea of making class schedules and activities and has enjoyed her time trying out classroom environments.
“I am truly honored to have been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship,” Teusch said in a press release from the Community Foundation of Huntington County. “I have been blessed to have family and friends who have poured continual encouragement and prayer over my life. I’m thankful for all of the educators and coaches that touched my life and inspired me along this journey. Most of all thank you to the Lilly Endowment for offering such a life-changing gift.”
A group of five HNHS band students were also honored for displaying the core value of High Expectations, High Achievement and Accountability. The five consisted of trombonist Andrew Crider, percussionist Takara Hethcote, trumpeter Lucas Lehman, flutist Cadence Reed and clarinetist Elycia Tome. Lehman, Reed and Tome were unable to attend, but will receive their certificates in the mail. The five were recently named to the Purdue Fort Wayne Three-Rivers Honor Band.
The PFW Three-Rivers Honor Band is a band compiled of bright and talented band students from across Indiana. During the weekend festival that took place in the beginning of December, the five had the opportunity to work with nationally known faculty and conductors and show what they learned in a final concert.
Two more HNHS band members, alto saxophonist Micah Pence and piccoloist and flutist Brianna Thomas were awarded and recognized for their display of the core value High Expectations, High Achievement and Accountability. The individuals were recently named to the Indiana Music Education Association All-State Honor Concert Band. Two previously recognized students, Hethcote, still playing percussion and Lehman, continuing on his trumpet, also participated in the IMEA All-State Honor Concert Band.
The IMEA Honor Concert Band is an honors ensemble that performs annually at the IMEA Professional Development Conference. Music educators across the state are eligible to nominate four students from their respective band. This year all four students from HNHS were accepted into the prestigious band program. The concert and clinic took place Jan. 12–14.
As stated previously, Lehman was not available to come to the recognition ceremony but will be mailed his certificate for displaying the core value of High Expectations, High Achievement and Accountability for not only participating in the PFW Three-Rivers Honor Band and IMEA All-State Honor Band, but also for being named in the Indiana Jazz Educator Association All-State Jazz Ensemble.
The IJEA All-State Jazz Ensemble is an additional piece of the IMEA Honor Concert Band, however, this piece focuses on jazz band traits and works with jazz conductors and faculty.
Another group of HNHS students were recognized at the school board meeting for displaying the core value of High Expectations, High Achievement and Accountability. Johanna Bragg, Gracie Fields, Ella Hall and Cayden Voght were named to the Indiana Association of School Principals Rising Stars of Indiana Class of 2024. Unfortunately, Voght was unable to attend the recognition ceremony.
The Rising Stars program is designed to recognize juniors who display academic achievement with the goal of providing them more exposure for scholarship opportunities. Each high school in the state is allowed to nominate up to four juniors for this recognition and again, all four HNHS students were accepted into the program showing all of their achievements.
The next two individuals celebrated for their recent achievements were Julie Glassburn and Beth Lusch, two HCCSC transportation employees who were running their normal bus route on what seemed like a normal morning. However, while running their route, a student was not coming to their bus stop like normal.
Very quickly, Glassburn could see into the home of this student and realized that they were in distress in their home and in need of medical attention. Glassburn alerted 911 and then stayed at the home until emergency services arrived. Lusch contacted the transportation office to alert the team before carrying on her route, delivering the other students to school.
The effort that these two women displayed during their bus route saved the distressed student from harm's way. The transportation department, as well as HCCSC as a whole, are very thankful to have these skilled and insightful people working for the corporation. Glassburn and Lusch were both recognized for displaying the core value of Evidence-Based Decisions.
The last recognition of the night was for Matthew Martin Jr., a senior at HNHS and a bowler for the boys bowling club. Martin won the individual boys bowling sectional championship, just beating out the second-place finisher by a single point. With a score of 204–203, Matthew was recognized for displaying the core value of High Expectations, High Achievement and Accountability.