Education roundup: Canton City Schools students receive Governor’s Merit Scholarship

Twenty-four Canton City Schools students recently received the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which provides up to $5,000 per year in financial assistance to seniors who are identified as graduating in the top 5% of their class.

Canton City Schools students receiving the scholarship are Carter Anderson, Robbaniquea Blakely, Autumn Cox, Gracie Cribbs, Carter Demetro, Cantrelle Freeman, Hunter Gearling, Allea Graves, Jonah Haines, Aaron Honabarger, Mia Francesca Jenkins, Secora Jones, Bryanna King, Hannah Kokensparger, Kenna Loukas, Nevaiah Mayle, Cameron Morton, Stone Patterson, Sophia Radosevic, Keaton Rode, Marla Sanchez, Eliza Tickhill, Alexander Vazquez, and Katelyn Wessel.

Jackson High School’s Junior Achievement program wins first place

Jackson High School’s Junior Achievement program called FlameGuard took first place overall in the annual Junior Achievement Exposition in April. FlameGuard took first in four of five scoring categories, including best in class commercial, annual report, trade show booth and financial excellence. The team's overall win earned the title of "premier business within the program" for this year.

Under the leadership of CEO Justin Lackey, CFO Zach Ferguson, CMO Matt Smith and COO Joe Lattarulo, FlameGuard has supplied more than 100 fire safety kits to families, according to a news release. FlameGuard, which was created in September 2023, is vying for participation in the national competition hosted in Washington, D.C. FlameGuard’s fire protection kits and individual kit components are available for purchase via their website and across various social media platforms (flameguard.us).

McKinley High School educator earns Speech & Debate Association award

Manuel Halkias of Canton McKinley High School has earned the National Speech & Debate Association's Diamond Coach Award, recognizing a professional career that combines excellence and longevity in speech and debate education. This is his fifth Diamond Award.

To earn a Diamond Award, a coach must be a member of the National Speech & Debate Association for at least five years. Coaches earn additional awards with more points earned in the Honor Society. A coach who attains 15,000 points is awarded a first Diamond; they receive a second Diamond for 30,000 points, a third for 60,000 points, and so on. Five years must pass between each Diamond Award.

Lake High School senior honored for volunteerism

Skyler Pine, a senior at Lake Middle High School, has received the Lifetime Presidential Service Award. Her more than 4,000 hours of volunteer work for her community have helped her earn this recognition. She is involved in her church and community, where she has been recognized multiple times as a Presidential Service Award winner for her efforts with the disability community, according to a news release.

She is involved with Stark Blessing Box, constructing boxes and stocking them with essential, nonperishable food and health items. She also advocates for people with disabilities, volunteering in organizations such as Recess, Make 'em Smile, Miss Amazing and The Princess Within pageants. She plans to study to become an intervention specialist at Walsh University.

Ohio Connections Academy recognizes Massillon student

Jaxon Eichel of Massillon recently was named one of Ohio Connections Academy’s Star Students of the Month in recognition of his hard work and leadership in the online classroom. Jaxon, a first-grader at the statewide online public charter school, was nominated by his teacher, Ms. Bell, because of his determination to succeed in the classroom.

As a Star Student, Jaxon will be presented with a certificate recognizing his achievement and be profiled in Ohio Connections Academy’s student newsletter and on the school’s social media platforms.

Student from Canton works with Chick-fil-A on senior capstone project

Cedarville University’s industrial and innovative design program allows students to benefit from senior capstone projects with national brands. Cedarville University senior Abby Ryan of Canton was part of a team that analyzed and redesigned aspects of Chick-fil-A's catering experience. In February, Chick-fil-A hosted the team at its Support Center in Atlanta for a day of meetings with the designers and engineers working in the departments concerning their project. (Due to a non-disclosure agreement, they are limited in what details they can share.)

Representatives from Chick-fil-A corporate attended the restricted presentation of this capstone project in Columbus at the end of April, with Ryan and her teammate presenting a second time at the Atlanta Support Center after graduation. The three-month capstone project culminated with the seniors presenting their work to representatives of Chick-fil-A before the end of the academic year in May.

Mount Union’s STEMCoding Camp is June 24-28

ALLIANCE – University of Mount Union’s STEMCoding Camp will be 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 24-28 on the university’s campus. Julie Butler, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, and Christine Morales, assistant professor of chemistry lead the camp. The camp is mostly aimed toward seventh- through ninth-grade girls interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but anyone in that age range is welcome to register.

Students will be introduced to physics, coding and general science through interactive activities indoors and outdoors. They will gain skills and technical experience, learn about the various STEM majors offered at the collegiate level and about in-demand STEM careers from Mount Union faculty and students, according to a news release.

The registration fee is $50 and will cover breakfast, lunch and snacks for the students, along with a T-shirt that will be created through one of the activities. There are also scholarship opportunities available for eligible students to cover the registration fee.

Space is limited on a first-come, first-served basis, and those interested can visit the mountunion.edu/stemcoding to learn more and to register.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Education roundup: Canton City Schools students receive Governor’s Merit Scholarship