Each year, whether through being named to the honor roll or another way, several students at Wawasee High School earn recognition in some form. But many others, despite positive accomplishments, had not been recognized.

This year, though, an attempt was made to change that as a student assembly was held during the first period Monday morning in the main spectator gym at the high school. Recognition was given to several students in the form of certificates. Many of these students would not be recognized otherwise.

WHS teacher Geoff Walmer said recognizing students in front of the entire student body is an attempt to “improve the school climate.” Walmer is a member of one of the school’s quality teams and said teachers and staff members nominated several students who they observed doing positive things and representing the Wawasee school district in a positive manner.

Recognized for showing excellence in helping others throughout the school year were Skylar Kuta, Cody Stephens, Henry Kidd, Cheyenne Honeycutt, Brittney Garza, Nicole Hurt and Carly Erst. Receiving the “Good Neighbor Award” for working well together while in class and keeping each other accountable were Jazmyne Gaylor, Nicholas Hise and Andrew Nicolai.

Students who were a great group to work with during their Advanced Placement History exam were Jordan Acton, Aaron Becker, Brittany Frecker, Lanae Haessig, Brett Heinisch, Maddison Hite, Jordan Kuhn, Brooke Miller, Jenna Rhodes, David Kuchar, Kasey Shell and Thomas Thystrup.

Foreign exchange students were recognized for making the difficult transition to a new way of life and included Laura Corell, Germany; Greta Gulienetti, Italy; Felix Heimberg, Germany; Sabine Jansson, Finland; Kristin Lonn, Norway; Laura Gomez, Spain; Thu Tran, Vietnam; and Andrea Trucillo, Italy.

Tyler Kissinger and Brad Potulney showed outstanding commitment and excellence in the industrial tech program. Andrew Anker, Ian Brumbaugh, Nathan Lambert, Ashley G. Miller, Jessica Rigelman, Gabi Routson and Katrina Simbeck worked long hours in out of school internship positions and represented the school well.

Chess Club consisting of Weston Wright, Roj Warstler, Frank Dush and Nathan Lambert placed 11th overall in the state competition this year. Art student Michelle Burnworth received a substantial scholarship to attend Pratt Art School in Brooklyn, N.Y., ranked 23rd in the nation among art schools. Attending the second ranked art school, Rhode Island School of Design, will be Molly Harwood on a full-ride scholarship. Harwood, along with Katie Graff and Taylor Malikowski, also spent a lot of personal time decorating the alcoves.

Andrew Anker and Ali Rairigh were named to the All-District Honor Band and Cassie Ewald was invited to play with the IPFW Symphonic Band. Frank Dush, Nathan Smith and Brett Smith received DECA state awards at Indianapolis. Dimitri Kaplanis represented the high school at the state wrestling competition.

Members of the FFA soil judging team receiving first place on the All Area Team and 11th in the state were Ryan Schlipf, Brittany Ryckman, Chris Fleming, Charlie Hamilton, Kevin Schlipf, Katrina Simbeck, Jake Templin and Seth Helfers. The horse judging team received third place on the All Area Team and eighth place in the state and included Drew Beer, Sophia Nyce and Jamaica Ensz.

Charlie Hamilton and Chris Fleming, members of the small engines team, placed sixth at the state level. State competitors for Academic Super Bowl were Andrew Anker, Emma Donahoe, Brandon Fox, Katie Griner, Molly Harwood, Ashley Helfers, Brett Heinisch, Michael Hernandez, Maggie Kenworthy, BJ McBride, Brooke Miller and Jessica Wilson.

The super mileage car team placed eighth nationally with their gas vehicle and second with the electric vehicle. Team members included Christopher Fox, Christopher Lackey, Christian Henn, Derek Zurcher, Nathan Lambert, Cole Love, Nathan Smith, Matt Siri, Tyler Kissinger, Bruno Williams and Westin Becker. FFA horticulture team placed first in the state and nationally and included Seth Helfers, Kaeli Long and Jessica Wilson.

The girls swimming team had five individual swimmers and two relay teams compete at the state level. Members included Brittany Robinson, Karla Allen, Sarah Rozow, Sarah Steele, Breanna Robinson and Kendra Miller. Brittany Robinson will continue to swim at a Division I school, Louisville, while Rozow will swim at IUPUI.

The last group to be recognized were those with perfect attendance the entire school year. They included Heidi Kolberg, Douglas Corl, David Ryl Kurchar, Austin Yoder, Brandon Buss, Luis Camargo, Payton Collins, Timothy Cramer, Brandon Fox, Logan Haessig, William McCarthy, Emma Rager and Priscilla Weikart. Jessica Camarena and Jenna Rhodes had perfect attendance two years in a row, while Brittany Frecker had perfect attendance three years in a row.