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Orlando Family Stars February 2017

Spotlighting exceptional students, student athletes, educators and all-around boons to the Greater Orlando area

Star Students
Vrinda Madan, Nirja Shah, Anjeli Nandwani, Julia Gallagher
Lake Highland Preparatory School students Vrinda Madan, Nirja Shah, Anjeli Nandwani and Julia Gallagher have been named Science Talent Search semi-finalists, an honor bestowed to only 300 students nationwide. Each student won $2,000 individually and $2,000 to support the sciences at their school.

Star Student
Carsten Balao
For competing in tennis despite managing Type 1 diabetes, The First Academy student Carsten Balao received the U.S. Tennis Association Florida’s Jimmy Gantt Memorial Award. A varsity player, Balao also volunteers at summer tennis camps and, with his mother’s help, has raised more than $10,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation via a charity tournament.

Star Students
Park Maitland School Students
In December, the entire student body at Park Maitland School wrote 600 special, handwritten notes of kindness, which the children then placed on car windshields throughout the area. Inspired by one of the school’s third-grade teachers, students called it the Windshield Kindness project and hoped their small efforts would warm hearts and spark a chain reaction.

Star Student
David Robinson Jr.
Trinity Preparatory School’s David Robinson Jr. has earned the rank of Eagle Scout with Maitland Boy Scout Troop 603, and in November 2016, he was selected as the Rotary Club of East Orlando’s Student of the Month. He also participated in last summer’s Global Young Innovators Initiative Conference at Emory University, among other accomplishments.

Star Student
Petar Nikolic
With eyes on becoming a doctor, Lake Mary Preparatory School senior Petar Nikolic is truly a well-rounded student. Besides playing varsity football, soccer and track & field, Nikolic belongs to the National Honor Society, Student Government Association, Key Club, and World Language Honor Society, plus other achievements.

Star Student
Wandy Soto
A fourth-grade student from Durrance Elementary School, Wandy Soto was recently named the first-ever Central Florida recipient of Sonny’s BBQ Random Acts of BBQ: Students Edition program. Soto was selected for selflessly giving his time and talent to others at his school, and he and his class were surprised with a catered lunch.

Star Educators
Champions
Orlando-area elementary-school students from 17 Champions before- and after-school programs united over the holiday season to help foster children start the new year on the right foot. The students collected nearly 300 pairs of shoes to donate to j.c.’s Kidz Dudz, a local nonprofit organization that provides personal care items, clothing and toys to foster children.

Star Citizen
Kristen Michelle Wilson
In a bittersweet accomplishment, Orlando resident Kristen Michelle Wilson was named the first female ringmaster in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus’ 146-year history. On the day of her premier performance at the Amway Center, however, the circus announced that it was ceasing operations, citing reduced attendance and skyrocketing costs.

Star Citizen

Stewart Brown

Years after suffering a snake bite while treating car-accident victims, Stewart Brown, paramedic district chief for Lake Sumter EMS, was unable to walk normally. Contemplating amputation, Brown had a Bioness L300 external device fitting over his leg and is once again able to participate in triathlons and play basketball with his 8-year-old son.

Star Students
Orlando Science Elementary Robotics Team
One of three teams of Orlando Science Elementary School students that competed at the First Lego League’s Central Florida pre-qualifier tournament earned Best Robot Performance and Overall Champions honors. The winning team was set to participate at the Regional Championship, hosted by Lockheed Martin, on January 28.

Star Teacher
Jennifer Coliton
Camelot Elementary School teacher Jennifer Coliton often purchases, out of her own pocket, extra school supplies for her students. Thanks to her father, John, and his company’s initiative, Wishes Delivered, UPS provided truckloads of donations, including school supplies, backpacks and other materials, for Coliton’s students and their families.

Star Teacher
Kyle Leisher
A teacher of students with disabilities at Edgewater High School, Kyle Leisher worked with his students and sponsoring businesses to launch B&B Coffee and Tea, which is a campus-based business that benefits the school’s Best Buddies program. The students make and deliver beverages to faculty each morning, and they hit their $1,000 sales goal in the first semester.

Know a Star? Submit your nominees to Nate@OrlandoFamilyMagazine.com

This article originally appeared in Orlando Family Magazine’s February 2017 issue.