Student of the Year Finalists Announced
An award based on the following four characteristics: academic achievement, leadership skills, character and work
with the school and community is what was given to Zoe Dieringer, a 5th grader at Lancaster Elementary, Louis Cohn, an 8th grader at Boyet Junior High, and Grace Dragna, a senior at Mandeville High School. There were the finalists for Student of the Year competition in St. Tammany Parish, and they will go on to compete in a regional competition. The regional competition finalists will be announced next month and include students from seven regions across the State of Louisiana.
Student of the Year awards are chosen specifically from grades 5 (elementary school), 8 (middle school), and 12 (high school). Students are chosen from both public and non-
public schools. After the regional competition determination has been made, the finalists from that event will go on to be selected as the Student of the Year for the State of Louisiana. Portfolios by the students, writing samples, and interviews are submitted at the regional level to help in the judging of students.
The chosen students from St. Tammany Parish had numerous accomplishments. Zoe Dieringer has a 4.0 grade point average, tutors other students, served on the Student Council, is a member of the band, playing the flute, and is amember of the Nutritional Advisory Club, the Hammond Ballet Youth Ensemble. She hopes to become a professional dancer and has been invited to attend the American Ballet Theatre Your Dancer Summer Workshop in New York City.
Louis Cohn’s accomplishments include starting left tackle on teh Boyet Junior High football team, a 4.0 grade point
average, a member and award recipient of the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, and was named Boyet’s outstanding Student in American History, Life Sciences and Reading.
Grace Dragna maintains a 4.56 grade point average and volunteers for and leads numerous organizations including the Mandeville Youth and Government Club, Political Thinkers Club, the Mandeville High Student Council, Feeding the Needy (Covington Rotary Club), So Others Might Eat Soup Kitchen in Washington, D.C., Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, the Samaritan Center, the Louisiana Youth Legislature, and the 2018 United States Senate Youth Program. She is also a National Merit Semifinalist.
