Who: Select local Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Students  Schools: Centre Ridge Elementary School, Clifton Elementary School, Floris Elementary School, Greenbriar West Elementary School and Liberty Middle School  Accomplishment: This past spring, 16 students were named winners of the 22nd Annual FCPS Student Safety and Wellness Office (SSAW) Bookmark Contest. Nearly half of this year’s winners attend school in the Centreville-Chantilly area.  Key to Awesomeness: Each academic year the SSAW sponsors a countywide creative competition in which students design bookmarks by artistically …

Who: Alexa Carlisle, Nick Choi, Angelique Ngo and Gina Yun  School: Greenbriar East Elementary School Accomplishment: These four young filmmakers placed second in the Grades 4-6 category of the 2011 Video Fairfax competition for their short film, Goyota.  Key to Awesomeness: Alexa, Nick, Angelique and Gina were among 100 students from 40 Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) who entered short films in this year’s Video Fairfax competition. The annual program has been produced by the Arts Council of Fairfax County since 1991 and is supported in part by Fairfax County, Cox Communications, and …

Name: Andeulazia Hughes-Murdock  Age: 15  School: Chantilly High School  Accomplishment: Hughes-Murdock, a Spanish 2 student at Chantilly High, was recently awarded a full scholarship to the La Escuela Preparatoria de Barcelona program in Barcelona, Spain this July.   Key to Awesomeness: Last year, when she was an eighth grade student at Rocky Run Middle School, Andeulazia Hughes-Murdock applied for the La Escuela Preparatoria de Barcelona summer study abroad program for eighth and ninth graders. She was denied admission. This year, from July 2-28, Andeulazia will not only be in Spain …

Name: Kenneth Joseph “Trey” Huelskamp III  Age: 18  School: Chantilly High School  Accomplishment: After a successful senior season, the CHS football Sportsman of the Year signed a National Letter of Intent on May 6 to play NCAA Division I Football at Davidson College in North Carolina.   Key to Awesomeness: When he was a young boy, Trey Huelskamp set a goal to play Division I football in college. This fall he will realize that dream as a tight end on the Davidson College Wildcats team.   “Davidson offers me that opportunity [to play for a Division I school] while providing a strong academic …

Name: Siobhan Beslow  Age: 18  School: Westfield High School  Accomplishment: Following an impressive end to her high school basketball career, this decorated senior athlete has been recruited to play NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball at Philadelphia’s La Salle University beginning this fall.   Key to Awesomeness: Thirteen years ago, while sitting in the audience at a Philadelphia 76ers game, five-year-old Siobhan Beslow saw a basketball player dunk for the first time. “From that point on,” said Beslow, now a senior at Westfield High School, “I wanted to do that and get involved in the sport…

Who: Indoor Percussion Ensemble   School: Chantilly High School  Accomplishment: Despite having to perform through electronic equipment failure in the final round of the competition, the CHS Indoor Percussion Ensemble placed first in the Scholastic A Class at the Winter Guard International (WGI) Percussion World Championships in Dayton, Ohio last month.   Key to Awesomeness: The 28 student musicians in Chantilly High School’s Indoor Percussion Ensemble knew they formed one of the most talented drumlines in the region after winning the Atlantic Indoor Association Circuit Championships in early…

Name: Brynn Feighery  Age: 12  School: Oak Hill Elementary School  Accomplishment: The Northern Virginia Volleyball Association (NVVA) 12’s Select Xtreme Team, of which Brynn Feighery is a member, won an open regional tournament last month that advances it to the 2011 USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships this summer in Atlanta, GA.   Key to Awesomeness: Inspired by two of her older cousins who played volleyball, Brynn Feighery began her own volleyball career with the Chantilly Youth Association (CYA) when she was in third grade. She quickly established herself in the sport.  By…

Name: Diego Gutierrez  Age: 10  School: Greenbriar West Elementary School  Accomplishment: This young student is one of 15 winners of the National Geographic Kids 2011 Hands-On Explorer Challenge, an essay and photography contest inviting kids to explain how they actively explore their world.  Key to Awesomeness: In his spare time, 10-year-old Diego Gutierrez enjoys investigating Rocky Run Stream and its surrounding area with his dog, Paisa.   “I really like going there and exploring,” he said. “There are different paths so you can keep exploring...it’s really fun exploring new trails and …

Name: Mary Sun Age: 17  School: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST)  Accomplishment: This ambitious junior was recently named a Regional Finalist in the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition and will compete for a college scholarship of up to $50,000 at the YES National Event in Washington, DC this weekend.   Key to Awesomeness: It’s not often that a high school student has both the drive and opportunity to take a simple observation or concern and turn it into a full-fledged research project with global implications. Yet, this was the case for Mary Sun, a …

Name:  Michael Harman Age:  16 School:  Freedom High School Accomplishment:  Michael was selected to be a February 2011 Cheers Sports and VivaLoudoun.com Athlete of the Month for his efforts on Freedom's swim team.  Key to Awesomeness:  In addition to mentoring young swimmers in his community, Michael focuses his "can do attitude" towards fighting Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  With his girlfriend, Kaitlin Stanton, by his side, Michael became involved with his first MS Walk last year after Kaitlin's father, Dave, was diagnosed with the disease.  Representing Team Stanton, Michael and Kaitlin …

Name:  Rachel Harris Age:  7 School:  Little River Elementary School Accomplishment:  Founded Let's Help Kids, a local nonprofit organization, at age 6.     Key to Awesomeness:  Rachel was introduced to the book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud by her daycare teacher and decided that she wanted to help kids.  With her mom's help, she started an organization that gives 100% of its donations to kids in the area.   For more information, please visit letshelpkids.org.   Do you know a kid doing great things? E-mail submissions to lisa.brown@patch.com.

Name:  Chris Vaughn School: East Carolina University   Accomplishment:  "In early January, Chantilly High School Alumni Chris Vaughn was named to the East Carolina Dean’s List for the Fall semester," said Chris's mom, Deneen, in an e-mail.  "The Dean’s Office indicated that his focus and dedication to his education are evident by Chris’s 3.8 GPA.   As a Communications/Media Broadcast major with a music minor, Chris is keenly focused on challenging himself and excelling at the college level."     Key to Awesomeness: Deneen said that the key to Chris's awesomeness is positive attitude and his …

Name: Christiana Omland Age: 17 School: Freedom High School Accomplishment:  Christiana dedicates her "time and heart" to the HOPE Club at Freedom High, which supports children with special needs.  She is also a mentor to a freshman at Freedom, Rachel Hunt.   Key to Awesomeness:  As President of the HOPE Club, Christiana has spent years volunteering due to a passion for serving others.  "Overall, at such a young age, she is setting an example of what we all should be, and can aspire to be, by spreading awareness to others and by reaching out and giving of ourselves to others," said Mary Hunt…

Name:  Nicole (Nikki) Ferraro School: Chantilly High School Accomplishment: Last June, Nikki organized a Relay for Life team called "Bite Me Cancer" that raised $5,000 after only three days!  She also claimed first place as an individual fundraiser.  Nikki wanted to continue raising money, so with the help of her parents, she started the Bite Me Cancer Foundation last September that aims to fight cancer through research and education. Nikki was then presented with the 2010 Leadership Fairfax Non-Profit Educational Leadership Award in November. She is now focused on raising money for this year…