Rotary President Jim Nesmith presents Student of the Month Steven Calhoun with a certificate and $100 check at Tuesday’s Rotary meeting in the Manhattan Project Restaurant as his mother Sharon Calhoun looks on. This is the final Student of the Month scholarship to be presented until Rotary begins the program again in the fall. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
Steven Calhoun, a senior at Los Alamos High School (LAHS), was recently honored as Rotary Student of the Month. Calhoun is the son of Sharon and Michael Calhoun and brother of Chris.
The Rotary Club of Los Alamos selects one student each month of the school year to honor as a Student of the Month. This year’s recipients reflect a combination of both LAHS seniors and juniors; in the fall, only juniors will be recognized in hopes of inspiring their interest in Rotary programs that take place during the summer following junior year. Students are nominated by their teachers and chosen on the basis of their academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, and, in particular, their service to the community.
Calhoun, who maintains an excellent GPA, has always regarded community service as an important part of his life. He has been an active member of Boy Scouts of America, Troop 22, since 2008, and attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 2012 by designing and constructing a cross-country course for Los Alamos Middle School. During the summer of 2013, he worked near the Rocky Mountains at Camp Cris Dobbins Boy Scout Ranch outside of Denver.
With great enthusiasm for snow-skiing and the outdoors, Calhoun annually volunteers for fire restoration work at Pajarito Ski Hill, where he is also a certified National Ski Association (NSA) ski instructor. Last year, he competed in the USASA National Skiing Championships. He is also a member of the LAHS Lacrosse Team and the Pajarito Mountain Freeride Team, acompetitive ski and snowboard team that trains on Pajarito Mountain on ungroomed terrain without a set course. Kayaking and backpacking are favorite pastimes, too.
As a well-rounded student, Calhoun finds time in his schedule each year to serve as a Team Captain for Walk for the Cure, sponsored by theJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). He also participates in the Environmental Club at the high school and in the International Club.
Calhounwas joined at the Rotary awards ceremony by his mother and friend Charlie Herrmann and selected Margo Batha, who teaches AP Language Arts and Composition at LAHS, as the teacher who has had the most positive influence in his life.
As a part of Rotary International, the oldest service organization in the world with more than 1.2 million members, the Rotary Club of Los Alamos gratefully acknowledges the contributions Students of the Month and their families make to our community, a principle reflected in the organization’s motto, Service above Self.
