Super Students: Three Revere Students Receive Prestigious Award From Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents

By Taylor Giuffre-Catalano

The latest Revere School Committee meeting, held on October 18th, opened with the presentation of three awards from the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents to Revere Public Schools seniors. Two students from Revere High School, Kathy Trinh and Christy Ly, and one from CityLab High School, Jaslin Ziamora Sanchez Mendez, received the honor.

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Dianne Kelly, outlined the award: “Each year we have a real honor to recognize some of our students who perform far and above their peers in our schools. We’re able to give them an award from the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, which is a pretty prestigious honor.” She continued by explaining that, out of the over 100,000 students in the Commonwealth, “only about 600 [students]” receive this specific award. She continued by noting, “We’re just so proud of the work that these students have done.”

Dr. Kelly continued by explaining the character and achievements of the award-winning students. She began by highlighting Kathy Trinh, whom she described as a “remarkable young woman” who “has achieved great things at Revere High School.” She explained that, this summer, Kathy was “selected to the prestigious Northeastern Young Scholars’ program,” where she had “opportunity to conduct, analyze, and present research to Northeastern faculty.” Kathy also works as a counselor for Revere Parks and Recreation, while also being a part of numerous clubs and organizations at Revere High School, including swim team, tennis team, math team, Feminist Empowerment Movement, and student government. Beyond this, Dr. Kelly explained, Kathy is a STEM and Writing Center Fellow, who will “have completed 8 Advanced placement courses while earning the distinction of AP Scholar with honors” by the time she graduates. Currently, Kathy holds the highest GPA in the senior class of 2023.

Kathy addressed the council and explained her future plans to attend a four year college, quipping “maybe even more.” She plans to study neuroscience and computer science, but she is unsure which she would like to be her major. She noted, “I want to study the brain, and I want to be able to apply that in any discipline I choose to pursue.”

The second award was presented to Jaslin Ziamora Sanchez Mendez, a student at CityLab High School. Dr. Kelly read a statement from the CityLab staff, which detailed how Jaslin has thrived at CityLab: “From the moment she walked through the door, we knew that she would flourish in her new learning environment.” Jaslin is described as “outgoing” and “articulate,” and, in her application to CityLab, “she stated that she wanted to write more and express herself better.” Just a few short months after transferring to CityLab, Jaslin now is “dually enrolled” at Benjamin Franklin (BFIT) in English college level coursework, where she is described as “a shining star.” Dr. Kelly continued, “Jaslin is able to effectively communicate and participate in discussions with her CityLab peers, as well as her other BFIT classmates. It appears Jaslin has found her place.”

Jaslin also addressed the School Committee, noting, “Before I came to [CityLab], I didn’t want to go to college. Now that I started going to [BFIT], I have decided I do want to go to college and pursue an architecture career.”

Dr. Kelly finished by presenting the third and final award to Christy Ly. Dr. Kelly described her as “an incredible student” and a “profound artist,” who has “many talents, including drawing and sketching.” She continued by noting that “Christy has been involved in numerous activities at the school and local community.” Dr. Kelly explained, “In July of 2022, [Christy] attended the National Student Leadership Conference at Johns Hopkins University, exploring mechanical, electrical, and other forms of engineering.” Beyond this, Christy recently completed the Northeast Metro Tech Vocational Program’s Acquiring Advanced Skills in Photoshop Illustrator, as well as “other Adobe suite programs.” Christy is an AP Scholar, who has previously received the City of Revere Certificate of Appreciation for “coordinating charitable drives during the Covid-19 pandemic.” Christy works at the Revere Youth in Action program, where she is working on “creating a high school level ethnic studies curriculum.” She is also a leader in the Feminist Empowerment Movement, and “e-board graphic designer” for the Asian American Student Association. Dr. Kelly expressed how Christy has range, participating in programs such as the MGH Youth Scholars Program, while also painting murals at Revere High School. Dr. Kelly noted that Christy’s murals have “beautified the hallways.”

Christy addressed the committee: “I plan to go to college for four years, and I’m interested in studying engineering or public health. I definitely want to continue being involved in the community and finding ways to help other people.” She closed by offering a thank you to her mother and her family for “all their support, and Revere teachers, “who helped [her] ever since [she] was little.”

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