Southwestern Heights Awards Assembly

At the Senior Awards Assembly on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, the following awards and scholarships were presented.
The Ag Futures Scholarship was presented by Gabe Baeza from American Implement and Steve Harkness from Western State Bank to Kaylen Langhofer. Rachel Amerin, a representative from Invenergy, presented their scholarship to Kaylen Langhofer. Davida Gomez from Seaboard Foods presented scholarships to Kaylen Langhofer and Emma Stanfield. Dawn Unruh, CEO of Artesian Valley Health Systems, presented a scholarship to Emma Stanfield. Lisa, Batt, Regional Fellowship of Christian Athletes Representative, recognized Kaila Froese as an FCA Outstanding Athlete. Southern Pioneer Electric announced two scholarship winners from Southwestern Heights, Kaylen Langhofer and Allison Sanchez. The Seed Sowers scholarship, which is open to students of family members employed by either Bank of the Plains, Clawson Ranch Partnership, or High Plains Ponderosa Dairy, was presented to Kaylen Langhofer. Kismet United Methodist Church awarded a scholarship to Kaylen Langhofer. The St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Altar Society Scholarship awarded their scholarship based on the following criteria: a student who is an active member of the St Patrick’s Catholic Church, who works to potential, who is a good citizen, and has leadership qualities. The National FFA and Ford Motor Company will be awarding a Built Ford Tough scholarship to Kaylen Langhofer at the Kansas State FFA Convention in Manhattan later this month.

Aside from the scholarships presented, many awards were given to honor students for their achievements. Valedictorian, Emma Stanfield, and Salutatorian, Kaylen Langhofer, received honorary certificates and medals for earning those titles. The Kansas Board of Regents Curriculum completer, Jaydon Vermillion, was recognized for having completed the curriculum set by the Kansas Board of Regents as the Kansas Scholars’ Curriculum. This includes completing 4 years of English, 4 years of Math, 3 years of Science (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics), 3 years of Social Science, and 2 years of Foreign Language. He was also recognized as a Kansas State Scholar based on his GPA and ACT score. Earlier this year, Emma Stanfield was named the Kansas Governor’s Scholar for Southwestern Heights. Students are nominated for this award based on academics, extra-curricular involvement, and leadership. Students are recognized in Topeka and given a certificate to present to a teacher of influence who has impacted their lives. Emma presented her teacher of influence award to her father, Kurt Stanfield. The Iron Mustang Awards were given to three students for participating in at least 3 sports all 4 years of high school. The recipients were Emma Stanfield, Victor Testa, and Amanda Thirakul.

At the end of the assembly, the High Plains League Academic Awards recipients were recognized. These awards recognize student athletes who combine excellence in both academics and athletics. The HPL wants to make the public award of the student-athletes who represent our league schools in their athletic endeavors while also being responsible classroom participants. To be eligible, students must earn a Varsity Letter in a KSHSAA Athletic sponsored activity. Students that have a 3.75 or higher cumulative GPA are named All League Academic award winners. Those students presented were: Seniors: Kaila Froese, Emma Stanfield, and Jaydon Vermillion; juniors: Adali Flores, Zoey Grant, Jaelynn McHenry, Juanita Puentes, Kooper Scripsick, and Adeline Woods; sophomores: Lacie Banman, Layla Kisner, Brylee Perez, Hailey Saucedo, and Jackson Stanfield; and freshmen: Eilian Baeza, Kimber Flowers, Hannah Fieser, Emilee Hamilton, Manny Mendoza, Grace Roberts, and Addyson White. Students with a 3.5 to 3.74 cumulate GPA are named Honorable Mention Academic award winners. Those students were: Seniors: Alex Castro, Victor Testa, and Amanda Thirakul; juniors: Wyatt Friessen, Cynthia Garcia, Elijah Kisner, Jennifer Lamas, and Parker Leak; sophomores: Memo Tellez; and freshmen: Fabio Tellez and Olis Trujillo.