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Show B6 The Castle Valley Review, March 2009 SPARTAN PAGE Going Out of Her Way to Make you Smile Rebecca Lofley Spartan of the Month Each month the Castle Valley Review will highlight a different Emery High student in the newspaper. The student selected will not necessarily be chosen based on their grade point average or involvement in athletics, but on their interest, hobbies and accomplishments, both academically and in their personal life. If a person walks down the halls of Emery High for any length of time, he or she is sure to be met by a warm, if timid smile from Brittany Hansen. Brittany, a senior at Emery High, is a girl whose sweetness and friendliness uplift everyone around her. She’s a girl who not only goes out of her way to make friends but who goes the extra mile to make the day of a friend. Brittany or “Britt,” as most people refer to her, is a dedicated student, family member, and friend. As her boyfriend, Ryan Thompson, put it, “She’s determined; she gets stuff done.” As a member of the school’s tennis team, Brittany got the job done. She played as second singles for much of the season. It is a difficult spot to obtain, requiring the player to challenge her teammates. Brittany literally “had to work her way in.” Her dedication paid off, and she ended up competing at region tennis as Emery’s second double’s player and earning a varsity letter. Besides tennis, Brittany keeps herself involved by participating in concert band, in which she lettered as a sophomore, as well as summer marching band. According to a fellow flutist, “She is an amazing flute player.” Besides excelling as a student, Brittany, the daughter of Lori Muncy and Kevan and Joleen Hansen, is a dedicated family member. With five little sisters and step-siblings, Brittany’s role as the big sister is practically a full-time “job,” though she sees spending time with them as one of her favorite activities. In fact, some of her favorite times are spent outdoors camping with her family. With so many little siblings, she often feels pressured to be the perfect role model, but she realizes that “you have to do the best you can, and hope that it’s enough.” She must be doing so because Shantelle, her sister, refers to Brittany this way, “she’s like my best friend.” As her sister’s best friend and many other’s best friend, Brittany has made a difference. Brittany, at seventeen, has proved that she knows what truly makes a friend. Throughout her boyfriend, Ryan Thompson’s struggle with his illness and obtaining a liver transplant, she showed strength of friendship rarely found in people even twice her age. As Ryan’s physical state declined, Brittany overcame the shadowing doubt “with faith and hope that everything would be okay.” Ryan expressed the support she lent by saying, “She helped me out a lot; she was there the whole time.” He related the times he’d want to go somewhere and how Brittany would push him along in a wheelchair. Her support was unwavering, her hope-infallible, and her strength- amazing. Brittany’s quiet fortitude and friendship are matched by her caring nature. Ryan shared an explanation of her nature, “Though, she’s quiet, she goes out of her comfort zone to make things fun.” She has an understated way of doing so by planning surprises and doing other small, sweet acts. She planned one such surprise not too long ago for Valentines Day. Though Ryan had to work on Valentines, Brittany Hansen she made a rose petal trail to his door, filled his room with balloons, a card, and Hershey’s kisses, a little act that made his day. “Britt” plans to attend Provo College and work as a dental assistant until she can get a degree as dental hygienist, a job where she can as Ryan describes it continue to “go out of her way to make people smile.” Emery Does well at Region Speech and Debate Meet Casey D. Wood The Emery High School Speech and Debate team traveled to Carbon High School for the Region Speech and Debate Competition on Feb. 20-21. The team did relatively well, placing in 5 different events and having many members of the team qualify for state. Those who placed were: Nicole Smith—first in Original Oratory, Kameron Stilson and Nicole Smith—First in Public Forum, Casey Wood—first in Student Congress, second in Extemporaneous Speaking, and Rebecca Lofley—Second in Spontaneous Argumentation. To qualify for state, it was required that a student was in the top ten competitors in an event. Qualifying for state were the above listed and Amanda Ewell—Original Oratory, Sydni Tuttle—Original Oratory, Kaitlin Potter—Impromptu Speaking, Allison Barham—Impromptu Speaking, Brittany Lofthouse—Spontaneous Argumentation, Kameron Stilson—Spontaneous Argumentation, Brantz Woolsey—Student Congress and Extemporaneous Speaking, Devin Hales—Student Congress and Extemporaneous Speaking, Alisha Royall—Extemporaneous Speaking, Adrienne Carter and Caleb Woolsey—Public Forum, and Kaitlin Potter and Kalin Burr—Public Forum. The 3A State Speech and Debate competition will be held on Mar. 6-7 at Weber State University. Sterling Scholars to compete on March 10 Casey Wood The Southeastern Utah Division of the Sterling Scholar competition is fast approaching. Emery High School will send its 12 Sterling Scholar nominees to compete at the College of Eastern Utah on Mar. 10. The Emery High 2009 Sterling Scholar Nominees are: The Art Sterling Scholar Nominee is Gatlan Huntington of Orangeville. Gatlan is the son of Wayne and Mary Huntington. The Business Sterling Scholar Nominee is Nicole Smith of Elmo. She is the daughter of Janet Smith. The English Sterling Scholar Nominee is Rebecca Lofley of Elmo. Rebecca is the daughter of Jarel and Mary Lofely. The Family and Consumer Science Sterling Scholar Nominee is Marie Harvey of Ferron. She is the daughter of Sid and Linda Harvey. The Foreign Language Sterling Scholar Nominee is Adriane Weihing of Huntington. She is the daughter of Tab and Jackie Weihing. The General Sterling Scholar Nominee is Tayler Tanner of Orangeville. Tayler is the son of Mark and Nanette Tanner. The Mathematics Sterling Scholar Nominee is Brett Mecham of Huntington. Brett is the son of Doug and Kathy Mecham. The Music Sterling Scholar Nominee is Landon Fehlberg of Huntington. Landon is the son of Reed and Carma Fehlberg. The Science Sterling Scholar Nominee is Kameron Stilson of Orangeville. He is the son of Scott and Heather Stilson. The Social Science Sterling Scholar Nominee is Kaitlin Potter of Ferron. Kaitlin is the daughter of Shauna Potter. The Speech and Drama Sterling Scholar Nominee is Brantz Woolsey of Castle Dale. His parents are Darren and Jeanette Woolsey. The Technology Sterling Scholar Nominee is Casey Wood of Orangeville. Casey is the son of James and Colleen Davis. Emery Students Learn Good Grades Pay Off...Literally Getting good marks in school means money in the bank for two students at Emery High School. Kelcy Faimalo and Chandler Peacock both won Emery County-area drawings for $100 scholarship savings accounts from Zions Bank’s Pays for A’s program. The students received the surprise news about the scholarships during the morning school announcements from Zions Bank’s Castle Dale branch manager Joel Hatch and Principal Larry Davis on Feb. 20. Open to all Utah and Idaho students ages 13 through 18, Zions Pays for A’s offers cash incentives for good grades. Teen students simply take their most recent term-end report cards from the current academic year into any Zions Bank location. They’ll receive $1 per “A” deposited into their Teengreen savings accounts, or .50 cents per “A” if they opt for cash. For each “A” on their report cards, students receive automatic entries into one of 182 drawings for scholarship money worth up to $1,000. Earlier this year, Faimalo and Peacock brought their report cards with at least one “A” grade into Zions Bank’s Castle Dale office. Their names were selected randomly in a drawing among entrants from that branch. Students have until March 20, to submit their most recent term report cards for the spring scholarship savings account drawing. Students need not be customers of Zions to participate. More information and full contest details are available online at www.zionsbank.com/ pays4as. “We at Zions Bank are thrilled to offer cash rewards to teens with ‘As.’ It’s a great way for us to recognize students like Kelcy and Chandler who excel in their studies,” said Hatch. “As a community bank, Zions is proud to partner with teachers and parents in supporting teens who do their very best in school.” |