City of Germantown
At Monday’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, the Germantown Education Commission presented its Teacher of the Month and Youth Excellence awards for December.
Lauren Rickman, a seventh-grade teacher at Riverdale School, won the Teacher of the Month award. Ms. Rickman is passionate about teaching both math and science. She searches for ways to engage her students so they don’t get bored, and her students are often in the hallway doing stations or an activity that has them moving and learning.
One nominator writes, “Ms. Rickman cares about her students. She takes the time to get to know them beyond the classroom. She finds out their interests and talks with them about those interests. In the classroom, she pushes her students to do their best in everything they do. She speaks to students in order to build them up so they can perform in class with confidence.”
Ms. Rickman attends students’ extracurricular activities, even when they’re not school-sponsored. She is on the leadership team for the seventh grade, working behind the scenes to make sure that middle school events run smoothly. Additionally, Ms. Rickman leads the Student Council because she wants to help the Germantown community.
Aside from her students, Ms. Rickman is also dedicated to helping her fellow teachers. One teacher writes, “Last year was my first year working at Riverdale and Ms. Rickman took the extra time to make sure that I had everything I needed. She is always the first person to jump in and help in any situation.”
Houston High School senior Elisa Wiadacz (pictured on page 6) won the commission’s Youth Excellence Award. Elisa is an AP Scholar with Honor and has recently been named a National Merit Commended Scholar. She was also awarded the National Hispanic Recognition Award by the College Board. One nominator writes, “Elisa is hard working, driven and interested in learning all academic disciplines – especially science. She also is active in both a mentoring and tutoring capacity with peers and is also active in school, social and community events.”
Elisa’s immediate family is from San Paulo, Brazil, so she will be the first in her family to attend college in the United States. Her family has a diverse religious and cultural background – with a Japanese Catholic grandmother and Jewish paternal grandparents – which fostered her ability to understand and appreciate different perspectives. This unique upbringing has shaped her into being a more open-minded, empathetic and tolerant individual.
Elisa’s involvement in the community is truly inspiring. She consistently performs music for elderly residents in assisted living homes. She coaches children in tennis every Sunday, both individually and in groups. She also interns at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital, and she is secretary of the Tennessee Chapter of the global nonprofit Heal for Health.
Her leadership doesn’t end there. Elisa is president of the school’s Health Occupations Student Association (HOSA), where she leads meetings and community service projects. She competed twice in HOSA competitions in the Behavioral Health category, where she won regionals twice and placed second at state. Elisa is a founding member of the Hispanic and Latino Club at Houston, secretary of the Science Club and member of the Science Olympiad, community service manager of the Beta Club and a four-year member of the Houston Varsity Tennis Team.
Congratulations to both winners for being remarkable role models in education!
