Community Awards: Student of the Year

Gloria Sosa

For Gloria Sosa, achievement and service seem almost hand in glove.

Sosa, a top student who just graduated from Carson High School, is a nominee for the 2008 Student of the Year. She looks back on multiple achievements in academics, athletics and music. She looks forward to service in her field after college.

"I just want to help the community as much as possible," said Sosa, who will attend the University of Nevada, Reno to pursue a degree in nursing.

She plans to run cross country at UNR, a sport that produced her most cherished high school recollection.

"The biggest memory was winning the 2007 state championship in cross country," she said.

Not only did Sosa contribute to that championship squad, but she was a four-year qualifier for state in the sport and a three-year qualifier in track. In addition, she qualified the past three years for the Junior Olympic USATF cross country national championships. She was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Achievement in classrooms and musical venues show Sosa can handle a variety of challenges. Her favorite subject was history but she excelled in others as well, becoming a member in the National Honor Society and posting a cumulative grade-point average of 3.6.

She plays alto saxophone, which she has been playing since the fifth grade. At Carson High, she was part of the school's symphonic band for three years.

Sosa also took time to help others as part of her commitment to service. She volunteered to help in a Seeliger Elementary School reading program. She offered up many hours to Corpus Christi Catholic Church, where she was an altar server and a member of the youth group.

For Sosa, it's all about getting things done.

"I like to keep busy, search for a goal and achieve it," she said.

Christy Works

Christy Works works when she plays and plays when she works.

You can tell just by chatting with Works, a newly minted graduate of Carson High School and a nominee for the 2008 Student of the Year Award.

She worked and played her way through school and other activities as a standout student, a three-sport athlete and a 4-H participant.

"Definitely sports," she replied when asked her favorite activity. She said she liked the great environment, the chance to get to know others and the involvement in challenging opportunities. "It's just a lot of fun being on the teams."

She worked at playing by participating in cross country, basketball and track while in high school. Even in her junior year, when she skipped playing basketball, she worked at serving once and future teammates by becoming the team manager.

Works said the highlight of her sports career at Carson High was CHS cross country team's surprise state title last autumn.

"Nobody expected us to win it," she said. "I was just ecstatic."

Athletic honors included selection as one of two Sierra Nevada Media Group Senior Female Athletes of the Year for Carson High.

No Christy one-note, though, Works also played the classroom game with aplomb by studying her way to a 3.69 grade-point average and an academic letter her senior year.

Displaying good study habits is a good thing; she will attend the University of Nevada, Reno next to major in biochemistry with hopes of becoming a doctor.

Outside the classroom and away from athletic fields or arenas, Works holds her own as well. A 4-H participant since her pre-teen years, Works has a history of raising sheep, pigs and cattle.

John-Henry D. Lambin

John-Henry D. Lambin views obstacles as opportunities.

The Western Nevada College student is a nominee for the 2008 Student of the Year Award.

Not even dyslexia, a learning disability that makes reading and writing a challenge, could keep Lambin from a 3.6 grade-point average.

Lambin, who hails from Gardnerville, also spearheaded programs for peers designed to help them look past disabilities or other hurdles - such as asthma, dyslexia or just lack of exposure - to enjoy sporting activities and reading.

"A disability is something that can be worked with, just in a special and different way," he has said. He was involved in founding Kids Extreme, which encourages young people with asthma or other respiratory ailments to ski, bike, climb mountains or participate in other such activities together. It's a program that offers sports clinics to kids suffering from diseases that might otherwise limit physical activity.

He also is on another crusade - this one to help his peers understand the importance of literacy. He began Book Buddies, a program that pairs up young people in the community with seniors to forge reading partnerships.

The aim is that kids involved will develop an appreciation for reading while the senior citizens enjoy the companionship.

"Literacy opens windows to everything in life," Lambin said.

He doesn't confine himself to reading, academics and sports, however, striving for a rounded approach. He is a student ambassador for the college he attends, has served as a state ambassador for 4-H and, when he was 12, earned recognition as an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America.