Congratulations to Sean, the 2025 Communities In Schools of North Texas Secondary Student of the Year!
Sean attends Ryan High School in Denton ISD and began interacting with CISNT two years ago. At first, Sean would only visit Mr. Olumide Aje, the Site Coordinator at Ryan, for a snack between classes. After a few months, Sean decided to share more about his past, which included a chaotic home life and homelessness. Sean was quiet and disengaged, simply going through the motions at school and on track to fail his classes. Mr. Aje continued to encourage Sean for many months with seemingly no change.
After the loss of a friend, Sean began to open up more in his interactions with Mr. Aje. With continued reminders that he was capable of much more, a shift in his attitude began. When this school year started, Sean walked in with a newfound determination. He expressed his desire to be the first in his family to earn their high school diploma and take charge of his future. Since then, he has become an exemplary student, completing his Credit Recovery work, joining the College & Career Readiness Group, volunteering at the school’s food pantry, and passing all his classes– something he hadn’t done in a while.
Sean’s commitment to staying in school and achieving in life has resulted in him being CIS Student of the Month, CIS Student of the Year, and one of the first in his family to graduate from high school. Next fall, he will continue his upward journey by joining the Marines.
For all of these reasons, we are proud to recognize Sean as the 2025 Secondary Student of the Year!
Watch his video, crafted by Mixed Media Creations, here.
Thank you to our Secondary Student of the Year Sponsor, Atmos Energy.
