Senator Square: CHS springs forward as competition and award season takes shape

It’s that time of year at Carson High School when many of our organizations and clubs are participating in state competitions. Over the next month, I will be reporting on the results of these competitions.

State History Day results: The Northern Nevada National History Day contest was held on March 14 at the University of Nevada, Reno and Carson High School sophomores produced fantastic results. All first place entries qualify to move on to the national contest. If you are interested in assisting students with a financial contribution to support their trip please contact Nicole Fagundes at nfagundes@carson.k12.nv.us. Congratulations to all of the CHS students that competed.

The winners of this year’s Northern Nevada State contest from Carson High School are:
Individual Exhibit
• Richard Wagner: The Musical Innovator that is Unjustly Associated with Hitler (Nick Rosen)
Group Exhibit
• The River Ran Red: Annihilation, Deportation, Starvation, and Dehumanization (Megan Tingle & Kailey Lambert)
• Pol Pot: A Picture Perfect Leader? (Jessica Ayala, Kara Berggren, & Jiavanna Wong-Fortunato)
Individual Website
• Marie Curie: The First Lady of Science (Chloe Dodge)
• JFK: A Nation’s Hero (George Garza)
Group Website
• Leonardo Da Vinci: Modern Genius (Devin McMenamy & John Rowe)
• The Devoted Influence and Abiding Legacy of Clara Barton (Daisy Perez & Cristina Saenz)
Individual Documentary
• The Unsung Heroes of WWII within the German Border; The German Resistance (Nick Tibma)
• Haile Selassie: The Sun Sovereign of a Wounded Nation (Menen Ashagrie)
Group Documentary
• The Manhattan Project: The Magnitude of Minutia (Curtis Basa and Allan Huntington)
• Into the Woods: A Story of Survival (Michael Mendoza, Andrew Trejo, & Noah Doddridge) *This team also received the Governor’s Award for Holocaust Research with a cash prize.
Group Performance
• The Surface of the Moon (Kaylee Gordon, Katie Jones, Sarah Thiele)

HOSA State Results
Our Carson High School HOSA – Future Health Professional students returned from their state conference and competitions. They did fantastic! Two of our students will serve as HOSA state officers next year - 1st VP - Jenna Wong-Fortunato and 2nd VP - Johnathan "Ojo" Ventura. In addition to the competitive events, the Carson City chapter also earned the prestigious "Most Professional Chapter Award" for the second year in a row! Students will be attending the National HOSA Conference June 23-28 in Anaheim Calif. Contact Frank Sakelarios 283-1756 or Kelly Gustafson 283-1710 for more information or to make a financial contribution for national travel.
Dental Science:  1st Place - Jenna Wong-Fortunato, 2nd Place - Jia Wong-Fortunato
Med Assist: 1st Place - Mackenzie Tucker
Vet Science: 2nd Place - Alecia Oulette, 3rd Place - Corrine Defillippi, 4th Place - Taylor Krupp
EMT: 4th Place: Mariah Olvera and Siara Fryer
Fire Science: 1st Place - Michael Leiken, 2nd Place - Josue Orozco
Medical Photography: 4th Place - Jessica Hoyos-Velazquez
Pharmacology: 3rd Place - Michael Leiken, 4th Place - Tallon Rauch
Transcultural Healthcare: 1st Place - Rosi Bautista
PSA: 5th Place - Caroline Gabica, Ojo Ventura, Charly Lawlor, Kyndra Holloway

Theater Performance
Don't miss your chance to see the recently broadway-revived production of Pippin staring an incredible cast, crew, and pit orchestra of talented and dedicated students. All shows will take place at the Bob Boldrick Theatre in the Carson City Community Center at 851 E. Williams Street. Show dates and times are March 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. p.m. and March 28 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.. Tickets are $12 general admission and $5 for high school and middle school students.

Big Blue Welcome
Link Crew will be hosting the Big Blue Welcome on April 1st from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the big gym and senator square for all upcoming 9th grade students (current 8th graders) and their parents. You’ll have a chance to talk to students and staff about programs, clubs and athletics available at Carson High.

Father/daughter dance
FBLA, SkillsUSA, Culinary and Student Leadership are hosting the first ever father/daughter Cinderella Ball on Friday, April 17 in the gymnasium of Carson High from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This event is open to all ages in our community. Tickets are sold at the high school attendance office from 2 to 3 p.m. every day and are $25 for two tickets. It is an additional $5 for extra daughters. Pictures are available the evening of the event for a $10 charge. Light desserts will be served. For more information, contact Angila Golik at agolik@carson.k12.nv.us.

Senior Spotlight
This week’s senior spotlight is on Ryker Been. Ryker has a GPA of 4.39 and is finishing his senior year with a full load of AP and honors classes. Ryker not only excels academically, but is also a true leader at Carson High School. Currently the National Honor Society President, he has been a member of NHS for three years. He also serves as the President of the Key Club. Ryker has devoted numerous hours to insuring that these clubs run smoothly and has spent many, many hours planning and carrying out the community service projects these clubs sponsor. Ryker was the recipient of a Rotary Youth Leadership Award, and as a recipient, attended a summer retreat learning leadership skills.

Ryker has been a member of both ProStart ( a group designed to showcase the culinary techniques and management skills of tomorrows workforce leaders) and Skills USA (a group providing educational programs, events and competitions that support career and technical education). He has competed in both groups both individually and as part of a team at the state level. Ryker has also been a Carson High School Link Crew Director for three years, planning and implementing the program to ease the transition of incoming high school freshmen.

Ryker plans to attend Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he hopes to pursue a major in chemistry or a related field with an emphasis on food science. Ryker is truly one of Carson High School’s exceptional seniors and we look forward to his future accomplishments.

— Angila Golik is a government teacher at CHS and a member of Senator Pride.