“Celebrating Excellence”: County 10 holds inaugural Student of the Year Awards Banquet

(Riverton, WY)  Celebrating the “best of the best,” eight Fremont County high school students were selected and recognized at County 10’s inaugural Student of the Year Awards banquet held on Tuesday night at the CWC Intertribal Education and Community Center.

Since the fall of last year, County 10 has been sharing a Student of the Week from the schools in Fremont County from elementary through high school, publishing many anecdotes and recognizing the youths’ achievements throughout the school year. Senior students awarded Student of the Year were selected by their respective high schools’ teachers and staff.

Seniors honored with $500 Student of the Year scholarships were: Jordynel Anderson, Riverton High School; Carter Ayers, Lander Valley High School; Darrius Boyer, Wyoming Indian High School; Dante Buck, Frontier Academy; Emma Cox, Pathfinder High School; Martina Large, Wind River High School; Alex Mills, Shoshoni High School; and Jami Savage, Fort Washakie High School.

Receiving County 10’s 2023 Student of the Year and awarded an additional $500 scholarship was Martina Large of Wind River High School.

County 10 CEO Will Hill delivered opening remarks and presented the awards to the recipients. The evening’s guest speaker was Kristen Newlin, a 2003 Riverton High School graduate who attended Stanford University on a basketball scholarship and graduated with a degree in Cultural and Social Anthropology. Following her collegiate career, Newlin was drafted into the WNBA and continued to play professionally in Turkey until her retirement from basketball in 2020.

“Love yourself…do whatever you need to do to get to that point to where you can spread kindness to others,” Newlin said. “With this honor comes a great responsibility, and while your goals and aspirations will require hard work, sacrifice, and focus, I implore you to give yourself grace when it comes to society’s definition of success. Instead, let the amount of sunshine you spread say more about who you are and who you will become in this world.”

“We looked at our own mission at County 10 and wanted to award someone who shares that mission in their own lives and share many of those traits,” said Hill, referring to the Student of the Year selection criteria which included demonstrating a commitment to community service, leadership qualities, an entrepreneurial spirit, academic excellence, and a dedication to personal growth.

County 10 would like to thank Fremont County School District #25, sponsors William Brown, Allstate Insurance; Mick Pryor, Edward Jones; Hampton Inn & Suites, the County 10 staff, and all of the schools, educators, parents, and family members who have supported the students throughout the school year.