By Matt Wiley
One-by-one, they walk the stage, shaking hands and smiling, their parents beaming proudly from the crowd.
No, these aren’t high school graduates about to walk off the stage and into the real world, but more than 100 students of all ages from Wesley Chapel’s ten Pasco County public schools, being recognized by the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) for their outstanding academic achievements during the Chamber’s 16th annual Student Pride Awards Breakfast at Wesley Chapel High (WCHS, located off Wells Rd.) on April .
“For the past 15 years, (WCCC) has held this event to recognize students for their outstanding achievements,” said emcee Stanley Giannet, Ph.D., the current Honorary Mayor of Wesley Chapel and provost of Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.
School-by-school, Dr. Giannet announced the names of the 103 students being recognized for their academic achievements, each receiving a certificate and shaking hands with Dr. Micah Richardson, chair of the WCCC Board of Directors; Pasco County supervisor of elections Brian Corley (who also led the Pledge of Allegiance); Pasco County School Board member Joanne Hurley; Chamber Board member Wendy Bechtelheimer; former Board chair Jeff Novtony and Dan Paasch, representing U.S. Congressman Gus Bilirakis’ office.
Students were chosen by their teachers based upon the pride and enthusiasm they’ve shown for their school, their communities and their families and for exceeding the expectations of their teachers and principals.
One-by-one, students were recognized, including 14 students from Wesley Chapel Elementary, ten students each from Double Branch, New River and Veterans elementaries, eight from Watergrass, seven from Seven Oaks and six students from Sand Pine elementaries. At the middle school level, twelve students from Dr. John Long and ten from Thomas E. Weightman middle schools earned recognition, as did 10 students from WCH and six from Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH).
“This is the future of Wesley Chapel, the Tampa Bay region and the entire state of Florida,” Dr. Giannet told the applauding crowd of at least 300 people.
In addition to those students who received certificates, the Chamber also awarded a record total of fourteen $500 scholarships to high school seniors from WCH and WRH to go toward their continuing education.
“This is our largest group of scholarships ever, thanks to the support of our business community,” Dr. Giannet said, before calling the recipients up to the stage to receive their oversized checks. Thanks to support from the business community, the Chamber was able to give out an additional $1,000 in scholarships this year, over last year’s previous record of 12 scholarships.
Among those receiving checks were Autumn Cooper, Ashley Cortes, Marissa Culbreth, Christian Curbelo, Alexis Sapp, Lauren Stookey and Ted Willoughby from WCH, and Kent Collins, Alena Harding, Andrew Hippely, Hannah Patrick, Maria Vera and Keegan Welt from WRH.
“This morning we have witnessed the bright future of Wesley Chapel, bright minds on their way to success,” Dr. Giannet said. “We are very proud of you and your efforts.”
Following the ceremony, students and parents were treated to a catered breakfast, provided by Panera Bread.
The Chamber offers special thanks to event sponsors Chris Black Insurance, Auto-Owners Insurance, the Shops at Wiregrass, American Consulting Engineers, Cypress Creek Chiropractic, Parks Motor Group, Centennial Bank, Wesley Chapel Self Storage, Chamber Ambassadors, Wesley Chapel Nissan and boosters Avalon Park West, Central Bank and PHSC.
Congratulations to all of these students from the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News!
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