Carson City Soroptimists honor high school seniors

Soroptimist International of Carson City honored the achievements of local high school seniors May 22. Carson City Soroptimist Girls of the Month are high school seniors selected for exemplary academic achievement, participation in school activities, and community service. Many of these girls have overcome adversity to become leaders in their schools and our community.

Crystal Vargas will receive the Girl of the Year Scholarship, after being selected as February’s Girl of the Month. Vargas is one of three Nevada students to be named as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education. As part of the judging criteria for that award Vargas created and proposed an Emergency Medical Preparedness Plan for Carson High School and established a partnership between the CHS HOSA chapter and the NV Medical Reserve Corp. Vargas also received international recognition for completing more than 175 hours of community service, thereby receiving the Barbara James Service Award. Vargas also participates on the junior varsity girls soccer and basketball teams. She plans to attend the University of Nevada Reno.

March Girl of the Month is Cassidy Painter. Painter is active in choir, earning 6 All State Choir plaques. She’s passionate about her career goal of becoming a Nurse, and volunteers regularly at health related events. Painter created an international fundraiser called “It Starts with a Bar of Soap” which delivered 2,000 bars of soap to an orphanage named Smile Africa, located in Torono, Uganda. She plans to attend Western Nevada College, then transfer to a nursing program.

April Girl of the Month is Laina Aquino. Aquino is an honor student who’s active in helping incoming students at Carson High School become acclimated to their new school. She plans on becoming a nurse and has won awards for her efforts. She took first at the HOSA State Conference in 2018 and participated in the national competition. Aquino plans on attending Western Nevada College in the fall to study nursing.

May Girl of the Month is Fionna Carrick. Carrick is an artist who plans on becoming an art educator or therapist. She would like to combine art and education to reach and inspire young people. In 2018, she took first in the Advocates to End Domestic Violence Denim Day Project. Although Carrick planned on casting a wide net in applying to schools, her top school at the time of her application was to attend Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village.

Girls of the Month recognized earlier in the school year also deserve another shout-out. September Girl of the Month, Jasmyn Riediger, helped raise $55,000 for fellow Carson High School students affected by a tragic car accident. October’s Aadra Reed volunteers for food drives and community clean ups. November’s Rylee Santos is business-minded with intentions to one day run for political office. December’s Jill Beglin is a four-time varsity letter recipient. January’s Nura Tung studies philosophy and volunteers with Food for Thought.

Soroptimist International is a global volunteer organization working to improve the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment. The Carson City club provides education and training scholarships for local women, grant funding for local organizations, and breast cancer screenings for under-insured women. For more information about Soroptimist in Carson City, go to http://www.sicarsoncity.org.