South Washington County Schools highlighted student leadership and academic awards during Wednesday's board meeting.

Three student district ambassadors — Juliana Palacio Sanchez (Crestview Elementary), Kira McDonough (Pullman Elementary) and Tegan Vu (Lake Middle School) — spoke to the board about ambassador activities, what they learned about district operations and school-specific programs. Juliana, a fifth grader at Crestview, said ambassadors helped custodial staff pick up trash, made videos for morning announcements and create welcome cards for new students; she also described an upcoming Culture Night on May 8. Kira said her school is running clubs such as cribbage, chess, science and comic-book club and described a kindness-bracelet project. Tegan, a seventh grader at Lake Middle School, said ambassadors surveyed peers and discussed ideas about school construction and planning.

Assistant Superintendent Kelly Jansen introduced the district's National Merit finalists and Presidential Scholar candidates. Officials said 10 students earned National Merit finalist status: from Woodbury High School, Veil Iraco Olson (note: transcript reads "Veil Iraco Olson"), Joey Capistrant and Regine Veil (transcript names as provided); and from East Ridge High School, Eliza Kubacek, Yajar Ivy Lin (transcript rendering), Derek Lee, Maya Winn, Simon Roehl, Noah Walkquist and Carolyn Zhang (several students were not present at the meeting). Administrators also named several candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholars program and invited students to briefly share college plans and high-school highlights.

Board Chair Katie Schwartz and Superintendent Julie Nielsen praised the students for leadership and academic achievement. No formal board action was required for the recognitions.