Class Notes 06.25.15

+ MVA students receive Presidential Volunteer awards

Montverde Academy’s K-Kids, a lower-school community service club affiliated with Kiwanis International, recently received the K-Kids President’s Volunteer Service award for 2015.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is the premier volunteer awards program, encouraging citizens to live a life of service through presidential gratitude and national recognition. The award required a minimum of 50 community service hours.  

The winners are presented with a medal, certificate and a signed letter from President Barack Obama. Bronze medals are given to those with 50 or more hours, silver goes to those who volunteer more than 75 hours, and the gold is presented to students who perform more than 100 hours of volunteer service.

+ UCP enrolling for fall classes

UCP of Central Florida, a tuition-free public charter school and pediatric therapy center, is accepting children for the upcoming academic year. There are seven campuses in the tri-county area that serve children with and without disabilities.

The West Orange/Winter Garden school provides an inclusive education environment where students with special needs learn alongside their peers without special needs. UCP builds a foundation for success through a comprehensive offering of support, education and therapy to children ages birth to 21.

UCP is currently enrolling children for the 2015-16 school year for students through fifth grade. Free tuition is available for eligible students meeting criteria for select programs. The campuses feature arts and technology integration within their educational programs and also have a low student/teacher ratio in each of their classrooms. Physical, speech and occupational therapies are offered to children who attend UCP’s school and on an outpatient basis at all seven campuses. Medicaid, commercial insurance and private/prompt pay options are available.

UCP of Central Florida specializes in maximizing student potential for children of all abilities by integrating various learning styles. 

To begin enrollment, visit ucpcfl.org or call (407) 852-3300.

+ Local students receive honors

Windermere resident Emily Ellis, a master’s student in the Global Field Program from Miami University’s Project Dragonfly, is traveling to Baja this summer. She will study the diverse desert and marine landscapes through ecological and social field methods. Miami University is in Oxford, Ohio.

Ethan Ausburn, of Ocoee, was inducted into Rochester Institute of Technology’s Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society. He is an electrical/mechanical engineering technology major in the College of Applied Science and Technology. Alpha Sigma Lambda honors students who represent the guiding principles of activities, scholarship and leadership. Nominees are judged on scholarship, active participation and contributions in activities and leadership in academic and co-curricular student activities. Service to the community is also considered. RIT is in Rochester, New York.

Angerene Mitchell-Matthews, of Winter Garden, was named to the Graceland University president’s list for the spring semester. Graceland is in Lamoni, Iowa.

Robert Hartman, of Ocoee, a senior, was named to the president’s list of Mercer University’s School of Engineering for the spring semester. Jonathan Finucane, of Orlando, a sophomore, was named to the dean’s list of Mercer University’s School of Engineering for the spring semester. Mercer is in Macon, Georgia.

John Corkum, of Winter Garden, and Jeanne-Marie Potthast, of Windermere were named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Benedictine College, a Catholic, Benedictine school in Atchinson, Kansas.

Caitlynn Watson, of Windermere, was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Augustana College. The comprehensive college of the Lutheran Church is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Marcus LeAndre Isom Jr., of Winter Garden, was named to Wofford College’s spring dean’s list. Wofford is a four-year, residential liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Isabela Araujo, of Windermere, was named to the dean’s list at Hofstra University for the spring semester. Hofstra is 25 miles from New York City.

Madeline C. Sundberg, Spencer S. Cast and Elizabeth N. Bragg, all of Windermere, were named to the dean’s list at Samford University. Sundberg is a junior journalism/mass communication major, Cast is a senior communication sciences and disorders major, and Bragg is a sophomore health sciences major. Samford is in Alabama.

Austin Beltz, of Windermere, was named to the spring dean’s list at Wake Forest University, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Laura D. Nassiff, of Windermere, was named to the dean’s list at Boston University for the spring semester.

Sara Ladanne Ghassemi, of Ocoee, was named to the dean’s academic honor roll for the spring semester at Baylor University. The school is in Waco, Texas.

+ Area students graduate from BU

Boston University awarded academic degrees to 6,100 students in May.

Among the graduates were Joshua A. Salter, of Ocoee, who received a master’s degree in education in counseling, and Windermere residents Robert B. Earl, who earned a bachelor’s degree in hospitality administration, and Karen E. Brun, who received her master’s degree in forensic anthropology.