The Exchange Club of Sebastian has honored Sebastian River High School students Matt Patti and runner-up Leslie Hernandez as the 2014 Accepting the Challenge of Excellence (ACE) award winners.
The ACE award recognizes high school students who have made a dramatic, positive change in attitude and performance during their high school years, enabling them to overcome adversities and prepare for graduation.
The program recognizes those students whose accomplishments are often overlooked, even though they may have overcome extraordinary adversity in order to turn their lives around, succeed in high school and prepare for a brighter future.
The ACE award recipient for 2014 is Matt Patti, who had a history of missing over 50 percent of his classes in 10th grade and accumulating referrals one every two days. His GPA by the end of 10th grade was 1.2. Matt was falling into the definition of a juvenile delinquent, even though he was in the gifted student program through middle school.
Through direct daily communication with Matt’s father, Assistant Principal Jessica Keaton was able to get Matt in a dropout prevention program. He made up three years of classes in 11th grade and even worked ahead into his 12th grade requirements. He improved attendance, behavior and grades and became more involved with the school.
He also connected with one of the teachers and took impromptu guitar lessons and had jam sessions as time allowed, fostering the idea of a guitar club for dropout prevention. The Exchange Club sponsored a grant to provide guitars, equipment and other necessities so the guitar club would flourish.
“Opportunity is everywhere,” Matt said in accepting his award. “I am going to attend college and obtain the biggest, baddest degree and come back to share my story with other kids.”
The ACE Award runner-up is Diana Rodriguez. If the winner is unable to participate at the District Exchange Club level, she will fill that spot. Diana became a student at Sebastian High in August 2011, leaving her home in Mexico. She did not speak English and communication was difficult, but she worked hard and overcame that barrier.
Not only did she learn English, she became a member of the Spirit Club, and has taken Honors and International Baccalaureate courses. She currently maintains a 3.68 GPA. Diana will be the first in her family to graduate from high school. She has been accepted to Indian River State College and her goal is to become a Registered Nurse.
This yearly award is a favorite of the Sebastian Exchange Club. “It is so uplifting to hear of the efforts of these young people to overcome obstacles and achieve their goal of high school graduation,” said Kathy Falzone, Sebastian Exchange Youth Director.