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RESERVE — The St. John the Baptist Parish Public School District has announced its District Students of the Year are Tatyana Gross, Teryn Davis and Christopher Taylor.

St. John STEM Magnet Program senior Christopher Taylor has been selected as the 12th Grade District Student of the Year.

Taylor currently has a 4.0 GPA and is a member of STEM’s 4-H Club and STEM Ambassadors, serving as the first president of both, and East St. John High School’s BETA Club.

“Christopher works diligently in each class and each day to ensure his work is of the highest quality. He is engaged during the entire class period and leads discussions while accounting for the input from his peers,” STEM Principal Dr. Glenn Chenier said. “Christopher also shares his talents with the community at large. Christopher has a strong talent with photography and can be seen walking the sidelines at the East St. John Wildcats football games. He also takes group pictures for teams and organizations.”

Taylor often participates in educational opportunities outside of the classroom and has attended a College Admission Process program at Dillard University and summer programs at Xavier University that included MathStar, BioStar, LEAP/UNITE and Centers of Excellence.

He aspires to be a sports journalist and is part of the New Orleans Junior Journalism Program(JrNOLA), where he participates twice a week in lectures, has covered professional eSports events such as New Orleans Saints and Pelicans games and has had his work featured in Gambit magazine.

He has also created his own professional photography business, ChrispyCaptures.

“I’ve always strived to give 110 percent in everything I do,” Taylor said. “I often give up my lunch period to get some extra tutoring if I didn’t understand the lesson that was taught that day. Giving that extra effort and doing the things not every student is willing to do can be the difference between being a mediocre student and a great student.”

Lake Pontchartrain Elementary School student Teryn Davis is the Eighth Grade District Student of the Year.

She is on the Principal’s List at LPE and has served as secretary of the Jr. Beta Club and captain of the junior varsity volleyball team. She was previously the District Fifth Grade Student of the Year.

Teryn Davis has shown an amazing commitment to her learning. She has excellent grades and is respected by her peers,” Lake Pontchartrain Elementary Principal Dr. Shelly Chauvin said. “Along with her success in her grades, she has shown tremendous leadership skills in her classes. She is hard working, kind and has a positive attitude. Teryn is a great example of a student who puts lots of effort

and can adapt to these different times.”

Outside of school, she is a competitive dancer and student teacher at Aimee’s Dance Academy. Davis has served as a volunteer at Twin Oaks Nursing and Convalescent Home and currently mentors younger children.

“I hope to make my family, friends, teachers and peers proud of me,” she said. “I am a strong individual with a good heart and mind, so I know I am capable of any difficult task I encounter. My life is just beginning, but I am going to change the future. I strongly believe that this is something that I was born to do.”

LaPlace Elementary School student Tatyana Gross is the District Fifth Grade Student of the Year.

She is a member of the Talented Art Program, was Student of the Nine Weeks and has been on the A Honor Roll every semester since Fall 2016.

“Tatyana is a talented, hard-working and deserving student,” LaPlace Elementary School Principal Zina Jones said. “She is an extraordinary role model for her peers. She exhibits a love for learning, passion for knowledge and a hunger to develop and grow academically. Tatyana has a growth mindset. She earnestly applies herself to the learning process. She takes learning risks that lead to imaginative, out-of-the-box thinking. She is consistent and persistent, never giving up. Tatyana is proof that good things come to those who work hard and sacrifice to reach worthwhile goals.”

Outside of school, Tatyana loves to draw, cook and play volleyball, basketball and football.

“I will always put forth my best effort at whatever it is I am doing. My mom always tells us that we should be careful of what we are doing because the little kids are watching, and they will do what I do,” Gross, who is one of eight children, said. “I must be a role model for my little sisters and brother; not only for them, but for all the children coming up after me.”

 

— Submitted by Jennifer Boquet, communications specialist for St. John the Baptist Parish Schools