On every second Wednesday during the months of September through March, the Portage Exchange Club welcomes four outstanding PHS seniors as their Students of the Month. The students are selected by the high school administration based on their academics, extracurricular activities, leadership and community involvement. Each month the students represent a different aspect of the high school population: athletics, publications, drama, ROTC, etc.
In April, this changes slightly. The students selected by the administration are freshmen.
On April 17, assistant principals John Zack and Brett Munden presented four freshmen who have already begun to leave their distinctive marks on Portage High School and the Portage community.
Munden said, “These young men and women already have a great idea of how to be on track to have four great years of high school. We put it out to the teachers to nominate students, and out of 650 kids, these are the four who were mentioned the most.”
The students introduced themselves to the club members and told a little about their activities and future plans.
Nick Blue has a GPA of 4.3. He is a news writer for the school’s paper, The Pow Wow. He is first chair clarinet in intermediate band and is also plays in marching band. He is the secretary of the French club and a member of Student Council. Blue plans to go to college, possibly the University of Chicago or Indiana University and major in law or journalism.
Diamond Curry was accompanied by her mother Laquetta Weems. She maintains a 3.8 GPA. She is in several Advanced Placement classes and on the volleyball team. She is very active at her church, Zion Temple, both in the choir and on the evangelism team. Curry plans to go into the medical field, possibly as an obstetrician or in the child development field.
Gabriela Pearman was accompanied by her mother Nicole Pearman and her mother’s friend, Michael Fuerst. She has a 3.8 GPA. She is active in her church, especially the music program, playing piano, singing and participating in the worship band. She has helped collect laundry detergent and cleaning products for Gabriel’s Horn Homeless Shelter.
Pearman is in Pre-AP English and biology and is manager for the baseball and football teams. She plans to attend college and study music or architecture.
Kaitlyn Steers was accompanied by her mother Becky Steers. She is in all Pre-AP classes and maintains a 4.4 GPA. She plays varsity basketball and works at The Courts of Northwest Indiana, a facility dedicated to helping young people in athletics.
Although Steers has not yet decided on a career, she plans to attend Notre Dame University.
In May, the Exchange Club will celebrate the winners of the local Student of the Year, Lauryn Sanders, and ACE Award, Stephon Wilkins.