Chambers honor area Students of the Month

Front row: Karen Macias, Heritage High School; Alyssa White, Perris Lake High School; Elizabeth Ramirez, Perris High School; and Stacey Phan, Paloma Valley High School. Back row: Sally Myers, Founder; Kirk Skorpanich, Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce; Shelly Yarbrough, Riverside County Office of Education; Grant Bennett, Superintendent, Perris Union High School District; Tim Moore, Perris Valley Chamber of Commerce; Mayor Michael Vargas, City of Perris; and Council member Lesa Sobek, City of Menifee.

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The Perris Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce recently honored the high school Students of the Month for December. The students are nominated by their teachers and staff at their respective school sites and are chosen for their character, integrity, love of learning, ability to persevere and overcome challenging circumstances, community service, and how they make a difference on their high school campus.

Karen Macias is Heritage High School’s Student of the Month. Karen currently holds a 4.4 GPA and is No. 2 in her class. While maintaining her GPA, Karen is also involved in numerous campus organizations, including NHS, GATE, CSF, AVID president, and president of Hispanics Outreaching Linear Shift Alliance (HOLSA). She also holds a part-time job.

According to Principal Erika Tejeda, Karen is very well respected by her peers and admired by her teachers. Karen shared one thing she’s learned during high school is that there is a culture directing youth to identify, pursue, and refine one specific skill set to achieve a high level in that arena. However, Karen feels differently.

“I view well roundedness in today’s society as a wonderful skill that leads to the greatest success in happiness, both professionally and personally,” she said. Karen plans to continue that mindset as she attends UC San Diego to major in mathematics and become a math teacher.

Paloma Valley High School’s Student of the Month is Stacey Phan. Stacey currently holds a 4.391 GPA and is in the running for valedictorian. She is on the varsity volleyball team and is involved in a litany of clubs, including Asian Culture, CSF, and Key Club. As a daughter of immigrants, Stacey shared that her parents had expectations for her to be more successful than they have been.

She was raised in the shadows of her older sisters, who were both at the top of their class. Stacey chose to break out of the academic norm and decided to go out for a sport which no one in her family had done before. While choosing to participate in athletics may not seem like much to others, to Stacey, it meant the world. She said that it felt like it was the first thing that distinguished her from her sisters and truly allowed her to find herself. Stacey plans to attend UCLA as a biology major to become a dermatologist.

Perris Lake High School’s Student of the Month is Alyssa White. Alyssa arrived at Perris Lake after being released from the foster care system. Many students who are in foster care struggle with their academics. However, with the support of a great staff at Perris Lake, she has been able to succeed in her goals.

“The motivation the staff gave me allowed me the confidence to reach my goal and really made me think about my future,” she said.

Alyssa’s teacher, Ms. Puente, had nothing but praise for her and all that she has accomplished. “She is gifted academically and a really good example of a goal oriented person,” she said.

Alyssa will return to Perris High School and graduate with her class in June. She will then attend Mt. San Jacinto College for two years and then transfer to Cal State San Bernardino to obtain her degree in social work to help those who are in the same situation as she was.

Perris High School’s Elizabeth Ramirez is December’s Student of the Month. Elizabeth is involved in a number of activities including, FFA, cheerleading, ASB, and AVID. She has also obtained leadership roles in some of these organizations. Her passion to thrive and be involved is evident in the impact she has made at Perris High School. She has had to overcome some challenges, though.

At the age of 15, Elizabeth suffered a traumatic event. After, that she continued to struggle and became depressed. However, through the encouragement she received, she was able to process her grief and has become stronger for it.


Her teacher, Mr. Cousins, described Elizabeth as a quiet leader and someone who leads by example. “She is very dependable and humble. She exemplifies the student that we want at Perris High,” he said. Elizabeth will continue her education after graduation to become an elementary school teacher.

If you wish to learn more about the Student of the Month Program, please contact founder, Sally Myers at 951-506-8024.