Students Honored by Local Group

A trumpet player, a future criminal lawyer, and two hard-hitting journalists were honored at Thursday’s Manhattan Beach Coordinating Council Luncheon, the first of seven luncheons that will be held during the 2011-2012 school year.

Linda Leija, an eighth grader at Manhattan Beach Middle School, Joanna Duchesne, an eighth grader at American Martyrs Catholic School, and Kyle Allen and Zachary Rosenfeld, Mira Costa High School seniors, were each on hand to accept their recognition as Students of the Month.

Members of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District school board and MB City Council presented the four students with certificates of achievement, as well as gift cards to local eateries.

“It’s special because usually you see the ASB [Associated Student Body] kids winning this stuff,” said Rosenfeld, who, along with Allen, is co-Editor-in-Chief of the MCHS student newspaper, La Vista. “Kyle and I put in a lot of hard work and it’s nice to have some recognition.”

Rosenfeld is also a member of the Student Leadership Council at MCHS and said that he plans to pursue journalism in college.

Allen, a member of the MCHS water polo team, said that regardless of his career path, his experience as a member of La Vista has taught him several valuable life lessons.

“Although I may not want to pursue journalism as a career, my experience will definitely help me wherever I go,” said Allen. “It’s a real world experience.”

Trumpet player Leija, who serves as ASB president at MBMS, was heralded for rousing a crowd of roughly 1,400 at a September 11^th commemoration held at the middle school last month.

MBUSD superintendent Dr. Mike Matthews even requested a copy of the speech from Leija.

Said Leija of the Student of the Month award, “It’s really important to me and I’m really thankful for it. I like helping others and trying to be a good leader and role model. I just want to improve things around me.”

Duchesne, who said that the television drama "Law and Order" has helped shape her desire to enter criminal law, is in her final year at American Martyrs Catholic School, where she has done her best to lead those around her, even when it comes to aiding faculty members.

Just this year, Duchesne, whose first name is often shortened to “Jojo,” organized a pink bandana sale to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation in honor of an American Martyrs faculty member suffering from breast cancer.

“I had a family member that passed away from breast cancer, so I just wanted to remember them,” Duchesne said. “It was just for the good of the community and doing things for other people.”

As of Friday, Oct. 20, $1,837 has been raised during the bandana sales drive.

“It’s very special because there are around 65 kids in my class, so to be the one that the teachers noticed, that’s special,” Duchesne said. “I’m very honored.”

Mira Costa High Principal Ben Dale provided some humor at the luncheon, doing his best to give the two senior journalists a taste of their own medicine, as he gave a very candid and delightful impersonation of the interview techniques that he is used to encountering from the La Vista co-editors.

Dale asked Rosenfeld who he'd brought to the luncheon and Rosenfeld replied that he had brought along his parents and grandparents. Dale then proceeded to question Rosenfeld on the absence of his other family members, finally arriving at the conclusion that Rosenfeld had not invited his aunts and uncles because he was not close to them, drawing boisterous laughter from the crowd.

The next MBCC luncheon will take place Nov. 15 in Manhattan Beach, with a new set of local students set to be recognized.

The MBCC's mission "is to establish a forum to promote networking, communication and information exchange among agencies, organizations and individuals and to provide recognition to local students," according to its Web site.