Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Recognition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board and student board members present senior shout-outs, multiple students honored for scholarships and college plans
Summary
Student board members and district staff recognized high school seniors from East Aurora High School, noting Gates, Coca-Cola and other scholarships and announcing students' postsecondary plans.
At the May 19 Aurora East USD 131 Board of Education meeting, district and student leaders recognized a group of East Aurora High School seniors for academic achievements and scholarship awards.
Superintendent Dr. Halverson introduced the student board member report and thanked student board members for their work. Student board member Kevin Martinez spotlighted the senior class’s achievements and announced this month’s “Tomcat shout out” for Audrey Nasser. Martinez said the class of 2025 showed “energy and determination” and praised stronger student engagement and expanded support systems across the district.
The district’s community relations staff invited several students to receive certificates and gifts. Students recognized and their stated plans or honors, as recorded in the transcript, include: - Audrey Nasser — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, environmental engineering; member of National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society; cited as in the top 10% of her class. - Paul Perez (salutatorian) — Harvard University, applied mathematics with a focus on economics; noted as a Gates scholarship recipient. - Hector Montellano — Harvard University, political science (as stated by student). - Kevin Martinez (student board member; valedictorian) — Harvard University, economics; identified as a Gates Scholarship and Coca-Cola Scholarship recipient. - Karina Zuniga Perez (student board member) — United States Naval Academy, engineering with service selection aviation. - Other students and their stated college plans: Valerie Figueroa (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — neuroscience and math), Giovanny Gonzalez (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — engineering, undeclared), Jesus Gonzales (University of Miami — architecture), Luis Ortiz (University of Michigan Ann Arbor — English literature and film), Jeremy Perez (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — civil engineering), Isaac Sanchez (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — engineering, undeclared), Corina Villagran (University of Wisconsin–Madison — mechanical engineering).
Student board members Kevin Martinez and Karina Zuniga Perez each gave brief remarks about the impact of their roles. Martinez thanked the board and community, and Karina described the experience as “very impactful” and said it helped her public speaking and broadened her view of district operations.
The board recognized the students with certificates and posed for group photos. The superintendent encouraged community attendance at graduation on June 1 at Northern Illinois University at 1 p.m., which was also announced during district updates.
No formal actions were taken as part of the recognitions; the segment was informational.
