18 under 18 honored by Junior Achievement

NORTH KINGSVILLE – The goal of Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio is to not only shine a spotlight on the youth of the area, but to ensure the warmth of that light brings the youth back after college.
The 18 under 18 Ashtabula County Awards Dinner at Sheldon Calvary Camp on Tuesday, April 21, shines that spotlight on the youth.
“Junior Achievement is passionate about our young people, uplifting them, giving them the skill sets, letting the communities know what they’re achieving and the great things that they’re doing,” Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio President Michele Merkel said. “We want to inspire them to know that they can stay here, have a life here, raise families here. They don’t necessarily have to leave.”
The 18 under 18 awards dinner is the first step to paving a way for those youth to return or stay home.
“In order for them to build that experience, they need to be appreciated and acknowledge that they are appreciated. It’s a rarity, I don’t think, around here, that we do too many recognition events in recognizing our young people. We do through sports and maybe through school on certain things, but to have a community-wide event where the community comes together and they’re from different schools and different backgrounds, it’s just a nice opportunity to get them recognition,” Merkel said.
Those recognized as Ashtabula County’s 18 under 18 include Jocelynn Sturm, 17, of Geneva High School, nominated by Erica Hudson; Anthony Eason, 18, of Grand Valley High School, nominated by Carrie Brumit; Noah Marino, 18, of Grand Valley High School, nominated by Carrie Brumit; Isabella Port, 15, of A-Tech, nominated by David J. Kiphart; Mary Byler, 18, of A-Tech, nominated by Roger Peterson; Ryan Cotton, 16, of A-Tech, nominated by Bill Lipps and Jessica Cotton; Tierre Anderson, 18, of Lakeside High School, nominated by Bailey Dickson; Dusty Larson, 17, of A-Tech, nominated by Debi Zander; Louis Stroude, 18, of A-Tech, nominated by Ali Kurun; Anna Lin, 16, of Lakeside High School, nominated by Anna Lin; Logan Miller, 18, of Grand Valley High School, nominated by Justin Eldred; Matthew Edelman, 17, of A-Tech, nominated by Justin Eldred; Natalee Schor, 18, of Jefferson Area High School, nominated by Michael Barney; Carly Kray, 16, of Edgewood High School, nominated by Sarah Izzi; James DuFour, 17, of Edgewood High School, nominated by Nicole Kray; Amelia Kelner, 16, of A-Tech, nominated by Scott Basen; Allison Harmon, 16, of Conneaut High School, nominated by Erik Hodges and Tyler Pew; Noah Drake, 16, of Edgewood High School, nominated by Joseph Gerics; and Brady Vencill, 17, of Edgewood High School, nominated by Jenny Riedel.
“They give us hope for the future,” Merkel said. “One of the girls did a lot of organizing of events at her school, from prom to other events. You have to know a lot of things when it comes to event planning, and to take that on and to spearhead and to show up early, and take charge of something, I’d hire her in a minute. I told her to come and see me when she graduates, because I know event planning and what we do for this. It takes a lot of time and energy, and you have to make sure that you’re covering all the details and the work.”
“They’re just an amazing group of individuals,” Merkel said. “I love doing it every year. We want to continue to do it up here. We want to look at extending our relationship with these students, whether we do some leadership programs, even if it’s four times a year. We want to look at ways that we can connect them to other mentors throughout the area. We want to create a pathway. We want to create a little bit more than a one-time recognition event.”
Junior Achievement selects the 18 under 18 for diverse reasons.
“What we look at is a well-rounded student that is juggling multiple things in their lives,” Merkel said. “They’re going to school, they’re working, they’re in some kind of activity, whether it’s community service, sports, something that they’re engaged in. Then, what is that one thing that takes them above the rest?”
The backgrounds of the honorees impressed Merkel.
“One of the girls tonight I talked to is taking college credit-plus,” Merkel said. “I asked if she’d have a two-year degree when she graduated high school. She said it would be a four-year degree. When you look at that, she is not only graduating from high school, but she’s also going to have a college degree by the time she graduates. That takes dedication and you have to learn how to organize and manage your time and prioritize, and those are the things that we look for.”
Merkel may have talked about a few of the nominees, but all of them are special.
“Everyone speaks to us when they are nominated as an individual,” Merkel said. “Some of the other things that we look for, and it’s not about the grades, we don’t say, ‘Are they an ‘A’ student?’ I go back to a balanced individual that can prioritize and do multiple things and continue wanting to grow and experience things.”
“One of the girls that I met tonight, she was up at the charcuterie board, and she was asking what the different kinds of cheeses were,” Merkel continued. “She didn’t know some of them. She goes, ‘I’m willing to try it.’ I said, ‘I’m glad you’re willing to try something new that you’ve never had before.’ That could be a sport, academics, it could be joining a group or an organization. I know this came down with a piece of food, but if they’re willing to experience something that they never had, it shows that they’re willing to put their best foot forward.”