Taylor High honors juniors and seniors with academic, arts and college-readiness awards

Taylor High School held its Junior and Senior Academic Awards ceremony, during which staff and community representatives recognized top-ranked students, departmental award winners, and students accepted into college programs and leadership seminars.

The program foregrounded the class ranking honors: ranked first in the class was Gabrielle Fenton, who plans to attend The Ohio State University; ranked second was Morgan Helen, listed as attending DEI State University; and other top-ranked students included Wesley Johnson (University of Cincinnati), Brianna Clark (Ohio University) and Jenna Oder (Miami University). Students receiving top-rank recognitions were presented onstage by juniors and photographed with presenters as part of the ceremony.

The awards program also recognized academic distinctions that carry statewide or national implications. Organizers named recipients of the President's Award for Educational Excellence (which the presenters said requires an unweighted GPA of 3.5 and a faculty recommendation) and Ohio honors diplomas for students who exceed Ohio graduation requirements through advanced coursework and college- and career-ready experiences. Academic letters and pins were awarded to seniors and juniors who met criteria for highest honors (presenters said highest honors requires a 4.0 unweighted GPA for the first three grading periods) and high honors (a 3.5 GPA or higher). Presenters noted that College Credit Plus students may not have final college grades until the end of the semester.

College Credit Plus milestones and transfer-credit achievements were highlighted. Presenters said a subset of seniors earned large numbers of college credits through College Credit Plus and that several students completed the Ohio Transfer Module certificate; presenters identified a group of students who earned 36 college credits and the Ohio Transfer Module certificate. Pamela Hardy, a University of Cincinnati representative, described the UC Early IT program accepted students may participate in: a pathway that the presenter said provides one year of bachelor's-level credits while in high school, guaranteed admission to UC for students who complete that first year, an integrated paid work experience (described in the presentation as a 20-month paid work experience with an average pay of $45,000 over the program period), and accelerated bachelor’s-plus-master’s options. The students named as accepted into the UC Early IT program included Wesley Johnson and Zachary Hunt; another student, Mason Smith, was listed as a program completer who chose a different major.

A Marine Corps representative, identified in the program as Sergeant Daniel Ines, presented military-affiliated awards and the Semper Fidelis recognition, naming awardees including Darius Hart Handy, Eleanor Sims and Adam Heiser (Semper Fidelis recipient). The ceremony also included presentations from the Three Rivers PTO (Mrs. Johnson announced the PTO’s special-work award to Dean Nubauer), and organizers named students selected for the West Point Leadership Academy, Buckeye Girls State and Buckeye Boys State programs; presenters said sponsorships for some students were provided by the Harrison American Legion and the Three Rivers Women’s Club.

The school honored students in scholastic competitions and departmental awards: multiple students received Scholastic Art Awards (gold, silver and honorable mentions), and department-level awards were given across math, language, English, science, social studies, technology, art and career academies. Presenters named dozens of individual student winners across categories during the ceremony.

Presenters told attendees that a copy of the awards presentation would be posted later on the Three Rivers Local website for families and community members. The program closed with final congratulations to the students and a request that audience members remain for photographs and the slideshow presentations.