Seven high school seniors from three area high schools received $750 scholarships from an anonymous donor from the Denver Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) at their Teacher Appreciation Night on March 13. A stake is the equivalent of a diocese and includes nine local congregations.

This 6 th Annual Denver Stake Teacher Appreciation Night had the theme, "A Teacher Affects Eternity; no one can tell where his influence stops." Denver Stake President, Richard L. Millett, keynote speaker, reminded those in attendance that good teachers make all the difference in a young person's education. The evening was planned to show gratitude to some of the excellent teachers who teach in our community.

LDS high school seniors were asked to choose a teacher who had a significant impact on their lives in a positive way. The teachers who were chosen were then given the opportunity to nominate a student to receive one of the $750.00 Teacher Appreciation scholarships. The scholarships were given in honor of fine teachers who made a difference in the lives of the sixteen LDS youth who chose them for recognition. There was no requirement that the scholarship winners be members of the LDS Church, and all of the recipients were of other faiths.

Scholarship Winners. Ashley Creech, a courageous, tenacious young woman; Matthew Glenn a young man who studied independently for his AP chemistry exam; and Angela Napit, a young woman who is eager to help others from her native Nepal are from Cherry Creek High School. Nancy Cruz from St. Mary's Academy is a student who has been a strong example of moral integrity to her classmates. Scholarships from Smoky Hill High School included: Austin Jones, an African-American leader who is a model to students at his school; Jacob Rivera, who was chosen for his immense positivity and wonderful morals and character, and Carter Turnbull, who has the gift of positive energy that he shares with everyone at school.

LDS students chose a wide range of teachers to honor at Teacher Appreciation. There were music teachers, coaches, and classroom teachers from elementary through high school. Each high school senior was encouraged to introduce his or her favorite teacher and the teacher was allowed to respond. The teachers then received a framed Teacher Appreciation certificate and a $50 gift certificate for dinner at Maggiano's.

Teachers who were honored included:

Cherry Creek High School. Camille Hatch chose her science teacher, Dawn Baranek, Stephen Smith chose chemistry teacher Timothy Donahue, Matt Johnson and Justin Stewart chose English teacher David Rowe, Jordyn Canady chose her English teacher, Virginia Sheridan, and Rachel George chose calculus teacher Paul Trollinger.

Smoky Hill High School. Robert Crew chose his language arts teacher, Renee Eakins, to be honored; Matt Kregar and Carly Marinos chose music teacher Michael Grant; Stasia Erickson chose cross-country coach Brian Manley; Efrain Capriz chose SHHS Teacher of the Year, William Richardson; and Stephen Leadholm chose choral director Jim Techau.

St. Mary's Academy. Courtney Nystrom chose her chemistry teacher,Greta Glugoski-Sharp.

Regis Jesuit High School. Michelle Menezes chose her swimming coach, Nick Fraser Smith.

Congratulations to the scholarship winners for their perseverance and hard work, and to the teachers for excellence in their classrooms!