Sun Scholars honors students

Steven Thomas
Steven Thomas, a student at Aztec High School, was nominated for the Yuma Sun Scholars program for outstanding achievements in the field of social sciences by his social studies teacher Mark Olin.

“When he was not working on his own work, he was always willing to help his fellow students. During debates, he was always there with the solid thought-provoking questions. Because of his higher level of thinking and mentorship, he was also a teacher's aide,” said Olin.

Thomas loves this subject because of how he was taught. “I really enjoyed social studies because I had one of the best teachers to help me succeed and enjoy doing and learning history.”

The son of Irma and Steven Thomas, he was on the A honor roll, student of the month and was instrumental in kicking off the first ever American Cancer Society's Relay for Life relay fundraising team at Aztec. He plans to attend Arizona Western College.

Zachary Scott
Zachary Scott, a student at Gila Ridge High School, was nominated for the Yuma Sun Scholars program for outstanding achievements in the field of language arts by the scholarship coordinator Sonia Rebek-Jimenez because of his creative writing.

“Zachary has tremendous passion for this subject. He is a creative writer and is loyal to the material. He enjoys playing with words and likes to use them in many ways; ways that will help readers get a feel for the material,” said Rebek-Jimenez.

Scott said, “I like how word choice and their uses can make someone who's never met the author feel the emotions and see the setting, all without any images or direct interaction with the one who wrote them.”

The son of Elizabeth and Jeffrey Weeks, he received the doctrine and covenants honors award and A-team academic recognition. He does volunteer and community work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is an Eagle Scout for the Boy Scouts of America and member of AVID Club. He plans to attend Brigham Young University-Provo in the fall until he's able to take a mission trip for two years. After the mission, he plans to continue classes at BYU completing their pre-med and honors requirements while earning a bachelor's in a field related to writing and plans to attend medical school with the hopes of becoming an author/doctor hybrid.