Stories

Parents and teachers with students attending school in the Ojai Valley may nominate a student for our club's Student of the Month Award. The student typically exhibits behavior that goes above and beyond student day-to-day activities, whether that be helping other students, overcoming personal adversity or being active in the community. The award comes with a scholarship award to help the student pursue their studies beyond high school.

Sawyer Garnsey, a senior at Nordhoff High School, was awarded a Student of the Month award in December by the Rotary Club of Ojai West at its meeting on Dec. 17. Garnsey was nominated by her dance instructors Gianna Burright and Kim Hoj.

Burright told the Rotarians and guests at the meeting: “I met Sawyer as an eager freshman dancer who had drive, tenacity, and a hunger to move. I remember immediately noticing her calm and excited energy and natural talent for dance. Throughout her high school years, she has always been very eager to learn and approached life with a remarkable attitude. Now, as a senior in high school, she is taking Choreography Honors and is vice president of the NHS Dance Company. She is also one of the top students in Kim Hoj’s Advance Placement Psychology class.

“Sawyer takes care of her friends, classmates and peers. She is always working toward the success of the group as a whole and leaves no one behind. She is a wonderful role model to our youngest dancers in the dance program. She is an accomplished young woman and, most importantly, a very kind human being.”

Sawyer received a scholarship award from the club. She plans to pursue a degree in nursing and minor in dance at a four-year university beginning in the fall of 2025.