WCS Have Outstanding Achievers

Franklin High School

During the Williamson County Schools (WCS) last board meeting, a plethora of young minds were acknowledged for their efforts and representation of Williamson County. Student spotlights are a regular part of the Williamson County Board of Education meeting and highlight those who have done well.

Math was a winner for the system recently. From Brentwood Middle-High, eighth grader Harry Westbrook placed first in Algebra II at the Tennessee Math Teachers Association Competition. His teacher is Vivia Smith. Brentwood High’s Joyce Kang also placed first in Calculus.  Her teacher is Jerry Stelmaszak. From Ravenwood, Stanley Xiang placed first in Pre- Calculus, and Frances Ding placed first with a perfect score in Statistics at the Tennessee Math Teachers Association Competition.  Their teacher is Stacey Herrin.

Science is doing well too with Chemistry placing first. Ravenwood, Frances Ding and Eric Yang won first place in the Chemistry Lab at the Tennessee State Science Olympiad.  Their teachers are Avril Buerstetta and Amy Maffei. Engineering also held its own with two groups from Brentwood High winning first place in the Tests in Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science Competition. Will Cuthbertson, Jake Henry, Philip Ooi, Iain Woodburn, Dennis Sun, Deven Bhuva, Lisa Qu and Hadley Hilgenhurst won in the ninth and tenth grade group, and Akash Oza, Luke Donahue, Brandon Green, Austin Southard-Smith, Kimberly Eddleman, Nisha Bhuva, Taylor Streaty and Joyce Kang won in the eleventh and twelfth grade group.  Their teacher is Ashley Seth.

Brentwood High students won several first place awards at the state DECA competition including Corey Fawcett and Web Massengale in the Financial Services Team Decision Making category; JoJo Liddell in Restaurant Services Marketing; Hannah Overmyer in Hotel and Lodging Marketing; Shawdi Rabiei  in Human Resources Management; and Mark Randolph in Sports and Entertainment Marketing.  Their teacher is Lisa Nease.

Several high school students won first place at the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences competition.  From Brentwood, Ben Sherrill, Thomas Tatum, Thomas Wolf for Best Animation; Josh Jirjis, Zach Madell, Grayson Propst, Danielle Wilson for Best Music Video;  Stephen Hart and Cameron Pedley for Best News Package; and Grayson Propst and Danielle Wilson for Best Short Film.  Their teacher is Ronnie Adcock. From Centennial, Caleb Simons and Tarrik Walker won for their Public Service Announcement. Dawn Marek is their teacher. At Independence, Jackie Jones won for Best Sound.  Her teacher is Matt Balzer. From Ravenwood, Aaron Mirtes won for Best Director and Best Editor; Chaz Olivier for Best Photographer; and Aaron Mirtes and Brad Belemjian for Best Talent. Laura Faber is their teacher.

Centennial’s Patrick Mills, Toby Renfrow and Noah Shirley Winning won the SKILLS USA award for their Capstone Student Project Showcase Arts, Audiovisual Technology and Communications. Dawn Marek is their teacher. From Independence, Courtney Smith won in Advertising Design.  Her teacher is Stephanie Prewitt.

Brentwood High’s Natalie Bennett won the Congressional Debate House 1, and Rebekah Ninan won the Congressional Debate House 2 at the state National Forensic League Competition. Harriet Medlin is their teacher. In the Tennessee High School Speech and Drama League Competition, Brentwood High’s Sarath Pavuluri won in Congress. Harriet Medlin is his teacher. Ravenwood’s Josh Mucci won first place in After Dinner Speaking; Andy Gordon and Alyssa Miller won in Duo Interpretation; and Ross Hildabrand won in Extemporaneous Speaking. Kelly Duyn is their teacher.

Congratulations to all these students and teachers for their hard work and effort. We are proud of you and the way you represent Williamson County.