Sunshine State Scholar Winners Selected

By Gus Wilson and Scoutt Ryan

KONK LIFE STUDENT WRITERS

At Key West High School, four students in the junior class were recognized as Sunshine State School Nominees: T.K. Perkins, Jasmine Sander, Alexis Sturm, and Divya Nivani.

T.K. Perkins was chosen out of the four to represent the school at the district level based on his essay, resume and other accomplishments. His essay was about traffic infrastructure, and how to improve it, a topic that hits home for Key West.

Perkins notes other activities with STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] that made him a good candidate for this award, “I’ve been to architecture summer camps, and I have a CAD certification, which is the computer software for design, and I have a few other accomplishments in the fields of science and math,” which is what this prestigious award is all about.

Alexis Sturm, an athlete at Key West High School, who was named as the runner up, talks about how the award is difficult to prepare for, “You can’t prepare for the award; you just have to qualify. So, every class I have taken, and scores I have gotten, have led me to receive this award.” Nominees need to be great students overall, and that is a very fitting description of Sturm and Perkins.

“My preparations for my high test scores and GPA happen every day,” Sturm notes. “I am constantly trying my hardest in every aspect of school.”

Even though Sturm works hard academically, she says she was surprised to win, “I honestly didn’t even know this award existed until I heard my name called.” Sturm says she is “grateful and honored to be recognized.”

Perkins explains that being selected to represent Key West High School as a Sunshine State Scholar will allow him to attend the district event where he can collaborate with other winners on STEM issues. “It’s all about innovation,” he notes. This fits right in with Perkins’ future goals to become a civil engineer and “try to tackle some of our country’s problems with our infrastructure, roads, and buildings and such.”

The amazing work and dedication of these students will hopefully pay off not only by being recognized for this pretentious award, but in life as well, as they have proven to be high achievers. Perkins explains how being named a Sunshine State Scholar will benefit him, “This opens up doors for me, and it will definitely open up my future, too.” The district winner will be announced this month and will advance to the state competition.

Photo Provided

Caption: Sunshine State Scholar runner up Alexis Sturm (left) next to T.K. Perkins, who was chosen to represent Key West High School at the district level.

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