Madlangbayan, Jackson, Kitzerow are Students of Month

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The Perris Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce recently honored area high school Students of the Month for October. 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.

The students and their families attended a breakfast sponsored by the Perris and Menifee Chambers of Commerce along with local businesses and organizations. Principals and teachers from each high school shared stories about the students and they each received certificates of recognition, numerous gifts, congratulations and encouragement from local, county, state and federal dignitaries.

Heritage High School’s Student of the Month is Ryleigh De Guia Madlangbayan. Ryleigh has an amazing success story. She and her family moved to the United States just last year from the Philippines. In the short time she’s been at Heritage, she has made quite an impact.

Ryleigh shared that she had a bit of a struggle when she first started at Heritage. She was in an unfamiliar environment and culture and was fearful of stepping out to talk to anyone. After a time, though, she decided that this was not the life she wanted for herself. She decided to join the Robotics Club and hasn’t looked back since. There she gained technical skills. But more importantly, she gained invaluable friendships -- so much so that she is now the vice president of the Robotics Club.

Because of her love of robotics, Ryleigh has applied to several universities and plans to major in mechanical engineering. She hopes to work in the field specializing in medical devices and prosthetics and give back to the community.

Paloma Valley High School’s Evan Jackson is October’s Student of the Month. Evan is part of the NJROTC Wildcat Brigade. He holds the position of company commander, overseeing the training and development of the junior cadets. Evan is very disciplined and takes his academic and ROTC responsibilities seriously. Evan was nominated for his strength of character and unfailing dedication to the junior cadets of the NJROTC program.

One of Evan’s strengths, as noted by his teacher Mst. Sgt. Frank Puebla, is the ability to be a good listener, which translates to being a good leader.

“A lot of times we just want to talk as leaders. But listening is something that this young man does really well,” he said.

Evan truly lives and breathes NJROTC. He had the opportunity to attend the U.S. Naval Academy Summer Seminar this past summer in Annapolis, Maryland. This has helped him immensely as Evan hopes to get accepted into the Naval Academy to train as a naval aviator and eventually become an aerospace engineer.

Haley Kitzerow is Liberty High School’s October Student of the Month. Haley is a student athlete. She plays on the varsity softball team. She also takes multiple AP and dual enrollment courses. She is involved in ASB as Commissioner of Social Media, where she works hard to promote school spirit and community.

Haley shared that attending Liberty has opened up many opportunities for her. While juggling all of her activities, sports, and academics, one thing Haley admits to learning is how to handle change. This comes in many forms, but Haley learned it in a different, but difficult way. She shared the loss of a young cousin to cancer a few years ago. During that time, Haley and her family had to learn to live with a new normal. One of these changes was to create a non-profit organization to raise awareness for childhood cancer.

“I learned that life can change in an instant. But lessons are always learned with change,” she said.

Haley plans to continue her education to receive her business degree and cosmetology license to open up her own salon.

Perris Lake High School’s Student of the Month is Nia Salazar. As many people know, Perris Lake is a school of second chances for those who have struggled in previous learning environments. Nia is one of those students. Prior to coming to Perris Lake, Nia was on track in her academics. However, due to the tragedy of losing a close friend, Nia felt the weight of that loss and struggled both personally and academically. As a result, she found herself at Perris Lake. It was there that Nia began her journey to coming back to a place of optimism and belief in herself.

The hard work, determination and tenacity were not lost on others. She received multiple nominations for Student of the Month. Nia’s teacher, Carol Stern, shared how she has been able to see how much she’s grown.

“This young lady has such a passion for life. She’s gone through quite a bit of challenges in her life, and she has risen to those challenges, presenting herself as someone who is very honoring,” she said.

Nia plans to attend Mt. San Jacinto College and then transfer to a four-year university to major in finance.

Angelo Martinez is Perris High School’s Student of the Month. Perris Union High School District has many programs that offer students a wide variety of educational and career paths. One such path is the Future Farmers of America (FFA) agricultural program at Perris High School.

Angelo had actually tried other areas of interest prior to joining FFA. He was part of the marching band, participating in the Fourth of July parade. He also played on the Panthers baseball team, gaining more lessons while participating in sports. However, Angelo’s real love turned out to be FFA. This is where he really started to grow and gain confidence. Through his involvement in the program, Angelo discovered his passion for animal sciences. He shared that through the process of taking care of animals, there is a unique outcome to it.

“I like FFA because it brings out the beauty of what we originated from farming, what we have gathered to create everything that we have,” he said.

This has inspired him to continue his education after high school in the animal sciences toward becoming a veterinarian.

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