Central High School seniors Sydney Rohlwing and Karmen Cody received some of the highest honors at the 20th Annual Kankakee Area Career Center (KACC) Awards on Thursday, May 16.
Sydney, the daughter of Amy and James of Ashkum, was named the KACC Student of the Year.
To be considered, Sydney needed to be named student of the year in her program, which she was for Multimedia Production. Once she earned the designation of student of the year in her program, she was presented to a panel which analyzed the other students of the year on a five-point scale. Categories included were attendance, grade average, student essay, teacher recommendation, and a cover letter.
In addition to the KACC Student of the Year recognition, Sydney was awarded a $2,500 scholarship.
Michael Bozek, Multimedia Production instructor, said that Sydney excelled because she was always given the most difficult jobs. She was a leader for two school projects and her abilities and leadership shone through.
Sydney is the first Central student since Jared Sands in 2016 to be named KACC Student of the Year.
Karmen, the daughter of Maegan and Aaron of Clifton, was named the KACC EMT-B Student of the Year. Karmen also received the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) Jon H. Poteat Scholarship. To receive this, Karmen applied through the NTHS and is one of only 250 recipients of the $1,000 scholarship.
EMT-B instructor Ben Hansen said that Karmen was an obvious choice because she was very helpful and a leader in the class.
Sydney and Karmen were named Students of the First Quarter, which allowed them to be chosen as students of the year.
Next year, Sydney will be attending Western Michigan University and studying Aviation Mechanics. Karmen will study in the paramedic program at Kankakee Community College.
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