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Rylan Hudgins
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8th Grader at St. Thomas Apostle
Q. Tell us about your involvement with
sports? What sports have you played?
A. I have played football, basketball,
baseball, lacrosse and tennis.
Q. You are also involved in tennis, how did you start playing
this sport?
A. I first played tennis when I was six years old. I played it for a
short time and in the last year I have started playing again.
Q. What is your favorite thing about STA?
A. What I love most about STA is that I’ve made some really
great friends. I’ve been with a lot of these friends at STA since
kindergarten. No matter where we all go to high school, I think we
will all continue to be friends.
Q. Who is your favorite teacher?
A. I actually have more than one favorite. Ms. Leblanc, Mrs. Leigh
Ulrich and Mrs. Vaugh have all been my favorites. I also want to say
that our principal, Mrs. Coffman has got to be the best principal in
the diocese.
Austin ?
Khalia Lanier
It was the last quarter when the grandparent- guardians
of 8th grader Austin learned he would not be
moving onto high school with the rest of his class.
Diagnosed ADD, he was continuing to face the
same core subject academic challenges he had
struggled with throughout his school career,
leaving him frustrated and with little self-esteem.
Xavier student, Khalia Lanier, sophomore, has been
honored with top accolades by The Arizona Republic.
Khalia was also named Big Schools Volleyball Player
of the Year.
Determined to help Austin succeed, his
grandparents enrolled him in the Deer Valley
Brightmont Academy where “It was like flipping
a switch,” his grandfather says. He immediately
flourished, catching up academically and adopting a
positive attitude.
“My dad always says, ‘Put the extra in ordinary.
Be extraordinary.’ I live by those words.”
9th Grader at Brightmont Academy
“Students here don’t slip through the cracks,” says Campus Director Judith ZennaValgento. “Whatever is preventing them from succeeding we address.”
The self-paced, personalized learning model where teachers respect and listen to
students makes it hard not to succeed, says Austin, who’s discovered a love of math.
In just three months he’s completed the first semester of Algebra 1.
The self-confident ninth-grader sees a future “giving back” as a military pilot, and
recently told Zenna-Valgento, “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
inthezona.com
Senior at Xavier
College Preparatory
“I’d rather lose playing my best than lose playing timid.”
Khalia stated.
Also, in addition to being
named the Big School Girls
Volleyball Player of the
Year by The Arizona
Republic, Khalia was
the only Arizona
player named to the
2013 American Family
Insurance All-USA
Volleyball Team! She
received “second
team” honors.
January 2014 / 11