The Girl Scouts of Troop 966 donated a bike rack to Tampa Palms Elementary as part of their Bronze Project encouraging bike safety. The girls, pictured here with TPE principal MaryAnn Lippek are (l.-r.): Kaitlyn Graulich, Carissa Smith, Mallory Yee, Emory Seay, Lily Scalabrin, Isabella Cruz (in back) and Alexander Dominique. Gina Jasreman is not pictured.
When the eight girls (see photo) who make up Girl Scouts Troop 966 get together every other week, they meet at Compton Park in Tampa Palms. They’ve just completed fifth grade, but they’ve been a group since they were in kindergarten. While a few girls have come and gone over the years, the core group has stuck together.
“Six of the girls started together as Daisies, then moved up to Brownies, then Juniors,” explains their leader, Mieke Caris. “They are Juniors in fourth and fifth grade, and have now bridged to be Cadets, which is the Girl Scout rank for sixth grade girls.”
Now, as they leave Tampa Palms Elementary (TPE) and move on to middle school, they are leaving their mark at the school where all but one girl attended, in the form of a bike rack and a bike safety program that will continue, even after they’re gone.
Throughout this past school year, the girls have worked to complete their “Bronze Award” project, the highest award that can be received by Girl Scout Juniors. They have done all of the work and submitted their application; now they are waiting to hear if they will receive the award from the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.
Earlier this year, the girls decided they wanted their project to support kids. “The Girl Scout law says to care for our neighborhood,” says Mieke, “so they found a good cause in safety when going to school.”
She explained that their research for the project included interviewing their school principal, local police, the crossing guards, and kids and parents on bicycles. They sold Girl Scout cookies and held other fund raisers to support their efforts.
Ultimately, the girls designed a program of bike safety that was supported by the TPE’s PTA. At a PTA meeting, the local group Bike/Walk Tampa Bay gave a presentation on bike safety, the girls discussed their project, and the PTA gave away bicycles and helmets.
“The Girl Scouts then placed a bike rack for all students to use in years to come to store their bikes safely,” says Mieke proudly.
Land O’Lakes High valedictorian & Wesley Chapel resident Saloni Mehra, with members of the New Tampa Family YMCA synchronized swim team.
Saloni Mehra went into her final year of high school in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Land O’Lakes High tied with eight other IB students in the academic battle to become Class of 2016 valedictorian.
That’s exactly how she finished, too.
“It’s crazy,’’ she says.
Mehra, a Wesley Chapel resident, finished her high school career with a 4.79 grade-point-average, becoming one of nine – that’s right, we said NINE – valedictorians at Land O’Lakes.
“It’s kind of a first,’’ Saloni said, chuckling. “They (school officials) just didn’t know how to settle it.”
Which Saloni says is fine with her and her co-valedictorians. She says all nine valedictorian Gators are friends, and none minded the fact the school couldn’t figure out a tiebreaker.
As for who gives the traditional valedictorian speech, Saloni says the nine settled that by co-hosting graduation, kind of like presenters at an awards show.
Being co-class valedictorian is, “icing on the cake,’’ Saloni says. She has always been driven to succeed in the classroom, so getting good grades was just what she expected.
In high school, Mehra thrived in an IB program regarded for its tough schedule of projects and homework. She says that balancing her schedule became one of the more important survival skills she learned.
“It was pretty brutal,’’ Saloni says. “There were a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of work. But, it taught you how to manage your time. Sometimes, the work just piles up and you have to prioritize, so you meet your deadlines…lots of deadlines.”
How many all-nighters did Saloni pull in four years of high school?
“I lost count,’’ she says.
Her frenetic schedule did not keep Saloni from being involved in the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) at Land O’Lakes, competing in state competitions all four years with the club, nor did it stop her from swimming for the Gator varsity team, where she advanced to Regionals twice.
She says her greatest love, however, has been synchronized swimming, where Saloni was one of the first members of the New Tampa Family YMCA in Tampa Palms program as an 8-year-old when that program began a decade ago.
With a background in gymnastics and dance — which she did for 13 years, learning everything from Classical Indian to Bollywood to Jazz to Hip-Hop, with a little ballet thrown in — Saloni became an exceptional synchronized swimmer, the Summer Olympic sport which is often referred to as water dancing.
“My Mom came home from the YMCA one day and told me they were starting this team for this sport, and we had no idea what synchronized swimming was,’’ says Saloni. “I decided to try it out and I loved it.”
Saloni, who does solos, has advanced to Junior Olympics, where she will be competing nationally for one of the last times June 24-July 2 in East Meadow, NY. She also competed for a spot on the U.S. National team during tryouts in Arizona in April.
Although she says she once had Olympic dreams herself, next year, Saloni plans to swim with the Florida Gator synchro club team. Saloni picked the Gainesville school, which she will attend on a Presidential Scholarship, over 10 others, including the likes of Boston University, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Until then, she says she plans on putting all of those all-nighters and daily swimming practices on the back burner for a bit. The IB program definitely taught her a little bit about time management.
“I’m going to take some time off and enjoy the summer,’’ Saloni says.
Jared Bell, the Class of 2016 valedictorian at Paul R. Wharton High has advice for those striving to finish at or near the top of their class.
Relax.
Have fun.
“Not too much fun,’’ he says. “But, don’t get too caught up in all the technical stuff and GPAs. It is important, but you should try to enjoy your time in high school, too.”
Sage advice from a guy who was following in the footsteps of his brother, 2014 class valedictorian Earl, and the son of two Wharton teachers — math teacher Dave and English reading teacher Diana Bell.
Pressure?
What pressure?
Jared, who will attend the University of Florida next year, finished high school with a 7.49 weighted grade point average.
“I didn’t really decide to be (class valedictorian), but after my freshman year I was first and my dad just said, ‘let’s try to stay in first,’” Jared says. “And we did.”
Having parents as teachers helped, although Bell says there really wasn’t any added pressure. But, he says the right frame of mind was instilled in him early on.
“We started at a young age with their education,” Dave says.
That included math games played in the car on long trips, no volume and closed captioning subtitles when they watched their favorite television shows, and plenty of reading time with their mother.
“They get their smarts from their momma,’’ Dad says.
Obviously, Jared not only had his parents as examples, he also had his big brother. Following in Earl’s footsteps certainly put a little charge into the process.
“I would say I put more pressure on myself than he did,’’ Jared says. “But my brother definitely helped me a lot.”
Earl was able to help Jared avoid some of the “prep pitfalls,” while also steering him clear of classes and teachers he didn’t think his brother would like.
Dave says both boys were, “typical teenage boys. They didn’t want to do homework. We pushed them a little bit. We stayed on them.”
Jared modestly declines to run down the list of all of his high school accomplishments, but says he was “active” in school. He joined several clubs, and was president of Mu Alpha Theta, a mathematics honor society.
He wrestled for three years, and says he worked with 15-20 clients as a private tutor to make a little spending money. He recently completed his final credits and will graduate with an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree in Business from HCC this summer.
For fun, he says, he enjoys exercise and working out, hanging out with friends, and playing ultimate frisbee.
Jared only makes being class valedictorian sound easy. He does describe it as “very, very tough,” and said the biggest key, and struggle, is time management.
A typical high school day his sophomore and junior year would generally start at 6 a.m., with school until 3 p.m., then wrestling practice until 6, and home by 7, where he would do homework for a few hours before going to sleep.
“Then, repeat,’’ he says.
Jared is undecided about what he will study at Florida. He is attending the university in Gainesville on a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship, and will serve four years in the Army following his graduation. He said he will probably focus on the sciences for a major.
And, he and Earl will live together in Gainesville.
“Both boys worked very hard,” Dave says. “We are proud of both of them. Super proud.”
And, while two class valedictorians from one family is impressive, consider that the Bells may not be finished.
Earl and Jared’s sister Victoria is wrapping up her freshman year at Wharton.
Maya Patel, a senior at Freedom High in Tampa Palms, has already graduated.
From college.
When she graduates again, as Freedom’s Class of 2016 valedictorian on Wednesday, June 8, 9 a.m., at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall, it will just be the icing on the cake.
Maya is one of many exceptional students in the New Tampa area, but the Tampa Palms resident makes a strong case for being at the top of that list.
She is graduating with an 8.6 weighted grade-point-average, believed to be the highest ever at Freedom.
And, she already has an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree with highest honors in Business Management from Hillsborough Community College. She also was president of five clubs at Freedom.
She even started a nonprofit organization with her best friend, Milan Shah (see below), dedicated to donating used books across the globe.
While she will attend the University of Tampa in the fall, declining opportunities to attend, among others, the prestigious University of Cambridge — the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world — and Kings College of London, England.
And, get this – Maya says she still found time to have some fun in high school. “Of course, of course,’’ she says, laughing. “High school is not just about academics; it’s also about fun. I have done Indian dance (called Bhangra) since I was five, and I did typical high school things like movies and the mall. I always made time for fun.”
And sleep, she says. Maya says that despite her many responsibilities, she always got 7-8 hours of sleep a night, even after she added a part-time job at Taco Bell to her already busy schedule.
She says it’s pretty simple, really — use a calendar, make lists and just follow them.
Cheryl Bernales, Maya’s Latin teacher and World Language Department head at Freedom, as well as an American Government honors teacher, thinks the secret might be more about math than lists.
“I don’t know how she does it, but she does seem to have found a few extra hours in a day,’’ Bernales says.
The only child of V.C. and Nila Patel, pharmacists with the Suncoast Community Health Center in Palm River, Maya says she never set out to be the class valedictorian. She did, however, want to be in the top 10 percent.
But, once she started taking dual enrollment and AP classes, “I realized my level of rigor was pretty competitive.”
Her initial goal, laid out with intricate planning, was to graduate with her A.A. degree from HCC, which she did on May 6. Then, she added Class Valedictorian to her to-do list.
Her sophomore and junior years were the toughest, she says, as the classes and assignments could pile up at times, causing a few brief moments of self-doubt.
“I felt at those times that I needed to keep going on,’’ Maya said. “Such a big thing like valedictorian doesn’t come easily. So, I would get a snack and a drink, and get back at it.”
Maya had no idea who else was close to valedictorian status. When she found out her closest competitor was good friend Junie Kim, who had gone to school with Maya at both Chiles Elementary and Liberty Middle School, she was thrilled.
“Had it been anyone else, I would have also been happy for them, but it was even sweeter that it was a friend,” Maya says.
Maya credits her parents for being “pillars of support” in her academic quests. She says they never pressured her, and only encouraged her to reach the goals that she had set for herself.
Those goals now include becoming the first dentist in her family. At the University of Tampa, which she chose in part because of its “positive vibe” and proximity to her Tampa Palms home, she will study biochemistry and work towards a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, while trying to get into a top dental school.
She also will continue to help run MSMPC (her registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit), which stands for Milan Shah Maya Patel Collaboration, in the fall of 2014.
The two fell in love with reading at a young age, and over a discussion about what to do with their old books, hatched a plan to donate them, as well as others they would collect.
The MSMPC has donated more than 4,000 books in less than two years to places ranging from local community centers to Zambia, India, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. The organization also has partnered with Books For Africa to donate more than 2,000 books.
Maya admits it all sounds like a lot for an 18-year-old to juggle. But, she loves it.
“I don’t understand where she gets all this time,’’ Bernales says, “but she’s always positive, always high energy and never comes to school like it’s a burden or a task. She goes all out and does her absolute best job on everything, and does it with a smile on her face.”
If you want to contribute books to Maya’s nonprofit, please visit MSMPC.weebly.com.
Bree Cleveland, a seventh grade student at Family of Christ Christian School in Tampa Palms, has been named the First Place scholarship winner in the “Why I Want to Go to College” writing contest. She was one of 1,133 entries from across the country, and won $2,000 in scholarship money to go toward any college or university in the U.S.
The “Why I Want to Go to College” essay-writing contest is sponsored by the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office and the Omaha Storm Chasers baseball team, which is the AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The contest is open to 7th and 8th graders across the U.S., and judged by the students and faculty in the College of Education at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, as well as by Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg.
Applicants were tasked with writing a 750-word essay about their educational goals and dreams for the future, and had the opportunity to win up to $2,000 in scholarship money toward the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST), a state-sponsored college savings program. Three winners were chosen from each of Nebraska’s three U.S. Congressional districts; the other three winners, including Bree, were all from outside of Nebraska.
Bree learned about the contest from her language arts teacher, who has her students enter it every year, telling them that, “they never know, they might actually win!”
Bree’s educational goals and dreams for the future involve children with special needs. She has been a volunteer at St. James United Methodist Church in Tampa Palms since she was 8 years old, and has had the opportunity to work closely with special needs children during a program called FriendZone, which was the inspiration for her essay.
She wrote, “Most people look down on those with special needs as if they can’t do anything, or that they were a mistake, but I see them as a gift that is full of potential and love. That’s why I want to be a sign language teacher. If I can help special needs kids express their full potential, then I believe the world could see them the way I do!”
In addition to working with special needs children, Bree also has dreams of becoming a professional dancer. She has been taking dance classes at the Jansen Dance Project in Tampa Palms since she was 4 years old, and plans to potentially attend Howard W. Blake High in Tampa for its performing arts program. She says her ultimate goal is to dance for the New York City Ballet.
“Dance is a way for me to take my emotions or whatever may be bothering me and leave it at the door,” she wrote. “Once I step in the dance studio, I feel like I can be an all new me.”
As a victim of bullying herself, Bree has been able to take the negative emotions she felt when she was bullied and throw them into her dancing, turning them into something positive. Because of this drive, she has been able to excel in her dance classes.
“College is about growing and perfecting what I love so that one day I can share it with the world,” she wrote in her $2,000 scholarship-winning essay.
With Bree’s heart and positive spirit, she is sure to have a bright future ahead of her.
For more information about the Why I Want to Go to College scholarship, please visit: treasurer.nebraska.gov/csp/scholarships/essay/college/2016/contest-announcement.
Her initial goal, laid out with intricate planning, was to graduate with her A.A. degree from HCC, which she did on May 6. Then, she added Class Valedictorian to her to-do list.