Well done to Parrish Community High grad Madison Faust and Yves-Shella Daelle Feron, a graduate of the State College of Florida Collegiate School.
The 2024 Sarasota-Manatee Bank of America Student Leaders won summer internships connecting community-minded students to employment, skills development and programming that includes civic responsibilities like impacting children’s lives at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County.
As a volunteer at Johnson K-8 School of International Studies, Madison helped organize events such as its international festival and open house and joined the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.
A volunteer with Healthy Teens in Bradenton, Yves-Shella supports its mission empowering youth to make positive decisions and was treasurer of her school’s Student Leadership Team.
Now in its 20th year, the program annually recognizes 300 juniors and seniors, who will also visit Washington, D.C., for a leadership summit on how nonprofits, governments and businesses collaborate to meet local needs.
· Big ups to Lakewood Ranch High alumni siblings Lauren, Ethan and Julian Robotham.
Lauren graduated one year early with a chemistry degree from the University of South Florida, specializing in biochemistry. Ethan, a senior in computer engineering at the University of Central Florida, made the President’s List for the third straight year with a 4.0 GPA. And Julian, a junior in mechanical engineering at USF, made Dean’s List with a 4.0 GPA last semester.
· Amanda Horne is 39. Again.
· Happy trails to Diane Bradbury, retiring after 40 years as choir director at Oneco Methodist Church. A celebration is planned Aug. 4 in the fellowship hall at 4 p.m. Call 941-755-5943 for details and reservations.
· A bow to Keirstin Hecht, who received the Barrier-Breaker Award from the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education. She was recognized at the state FACTE conference for persevering with a traumatic brain injury.
Keirstin is a 2024 Advanced International Certificate of Education graduate, a pre-university curriculum and exam system for high school students who are academically gifted.
· Fifty years ago last Tuesday, a young man from Port Washington, Wisconsin, interviewed for a teaching and coaching job at Southeast High. He was eventually offered the job and took it, figuring it would be just a one-year gig.
Turned out to be an unforgettable 33-year run for him, the Seminoles and their fans.
That young man was Paul Maechtle.
Vin’s People runs Sundays. Email Vin Mannix at vinspeople@gmail.com. Or call 941-962-5944. X (formerly Twitter): @vinmannix.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: VIN MANNIX: Busy summer for Bank of America student leaders