Senator Fred Akshar continues “Akshar's All-Stars” student recognition program at Johnson City High School, Maine-Endwell High School and Glenwood Elementary School

Senator Fred Akshar continued the second year of his district-wide “Akshar's All-Stars” student recognition program on Tuesday by recognizing students at two Broome County schools, one Delaware County school and four Chenango County schools.

Each month, Senator Akshar recognizes local students selected by their school districts in the 52nd Senate District who have shown great leadership, compassion, school spirit or improvement amongst their peers.

Last school year, Akshar recognized 30 students across school districts in Broome, Tioga, Chenango and Delaware counties. This year, Akshar's recognized students at Susquehanna Valley, Chenango Valley, Chenango Forks, Whitney Point, Tioga Central, Waverly, Spencer Van-Etten, Candor, Harpursville, Afton, Bainbridge-Guilford, DCMO BOCES Chenango, Windsor, Hancock, Deposit, Norwich, Valley Heights Christian Academy, Oxford and Greene.

For each student recognized as an “Akshar All-Star”, Senator Akshar presents them with a t-shirt, framed certificate and a challenge coin.

At Johnson City High School, Akshar recognized senior Clyde VanDyke for his leadership and perseverance through challenging circumstances that's led to success in a variety of programs, including his college level courses through the P-Tech program and 4-H. This year, Clyde earned the 2019 4-H National Youth in Action STEM Award for his work with geospatial mapping related to opioid overdoses and will serve as the national youth spokesperson for 4-H STEM programming.

“I just want to say it's such a great honor to be given this award and it's so great to be recognized in my local community for all the work that I'm doing,” said VanDyke. “I hope to be an inspiration for youth across the nation.”

At Maine-Endwell High School, Akshar recognized junior Mia Gravelding for her hard work, excellence and willingness to challenge herself both in the classroom and on the athletic field, along with her caring and kind attitude toward her peers. Gravelding also frequently sings the National Anthem at local events and her voice has even graced the Carrior Dome before a Syracuse Orange game.

At Glenwood Elementary School, Akshar recognized 5th grader Aishwarya Patel for her commitment to pushing herself every day through her academic studies and in service to her community. A dancer, gymnast, Girl Scout and member of the Glenwood Orchestra, Aishy has also taken the lead in organizing fundraising efforts to benefit Every Dogs Dream Animal Rescue for the past two years.
 

Senator Fred Akshar said, "This is an amazing opportunity for us to meet and recognize outstanding young people doing wonderful things in their community and schools throughout the 52nd Senate District. Whether they're in 2nd grade or a senior in high school, we want to bring attention to those students who are making a difference in their own lives and in the lives of those around them. They inspire us all by showing us the good that exists in our communities.”