Osceola Creek Middle School recently announced the recipients of its Scholar-Athlete Award for December. The award is sponsored by the school police and honors varsity athletes who also excel in academics, effort, behavior and school spirit, and serve as a role model for others. This month’s honorees carry high grade point averages as well as play varsity sports.
Girls volleyball honored Samantha Vilarino, 14. “It is with pleasure that I nominate Samantha Vilarino as Scholar Athlete of the Month,” coach Shayne Sanderford said. “She is an amazing young lady who not only excels on the court, but in the classroom as well, carrying a 5.0 GPA. She gives 100 percent to school and sports. I have seen her stay after at practice after everyone else has left and work on her hitting and serving skills.”
Vilarino, an eighth-grade student, has perfect attendance for the year. She wants to attend the University of Florida School of Medicine as a prelude to a career as a neurosurgeon.
Boys soccer honored Jake Pennypacker. “Jake is an outstanding scholar athlete,” coach Tony Bugeja said. “He has been a top player on the soccer team since the sixth grade. He is an impact player and is able to help his team from anywhere on the field. He is an excellent model for the younger players on the team and manages to keep his academics a major priority.”
Pennypacker, 12, a seventh-grade student, also has perfect attendance for the year. In addition to soccer, he also is a member of the school’s volleyball team, while carrying a 4.92 GPA. He wants to attend the University of Florida, then follow family footsteps into a public safety career, perhaps as a firefighter/paramedic.
Supporting the program are Subway, Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, the Loxahatchee Ice Cream Company and Burger King, located at Seminole Pratt Whitney Road and Orange Blvd., and Dairy Queen at Royal Palm Beach Blvd. and Okeechobee Blvd., which donated free food coupons.
ABOVE: Principal Nicole Daly, Jake Pennypacker, Samantha Vilarino and officer Sandy Molenda.
