Helping others landed these nominees on the list for Student of the Week

Once again the Free Press is spotlighting extraordinary high school students across Chittenden County. Students featured this week were nominated by their school for their incredible commitment to serving others.

After reading about these outstanding students, you can vote for one − or more − to be named Student of the Week in a poll at the bottom of the article. Voting will last until noon, Thursday, March 21. You may vote multiple times, just not more than once per hour. On Friday, March 22, the winner will be announced in an article featuring all the students of the week from this school year.

Here are the nominees for Student of the Week for the week of March 18, 2024:

Camryn Poulin - Burlington High School

Seventeen-year-old Camryn Poulin is much more than a student. The Burlington High School senior has also dedicated her time in the classroom serving as a teacher's aide.

Here's what her school had to say about her:

"Camryn is earning her National Honor status by working as a teacher's aide in an intensive needs learning classroom. Her presence in the classroom is vital. She steps up and takes charge regularly when working with peers, as they all vie to work with her. She says 'yes' to hard tasks and does extra work such as assisting the Seahorse Café during Winterfest. Camryn is also an excellent scholar and her grades and excellent attendance reflect her hard work. She does all this while participating in multiple sports teams at BHS and prepares for college in the fall."

Kaelynn Sandvil - Burlington Technical Center & Bellows Free Academy Fairfax

Kaelynn Sandvil is a sixteen-year-old junior at Burlington Technical Center and Bellows Free Academy Fairfax. The Fairfax resident has distinguished herself by placing among the top in a statewide competition for nursing that will allow her to compete at the international competition.

Here's what BTC educators had to say about her:

"Kaelynn attends Burlington Tech Center's Introduction to Healthcare program where she is working towards her Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA) credential. She won a silver medal in statewide competition for Individual Nurse Assisting which was announced at this week's HOSA - Future Health Professionals conference at UVM. She is the first student from Burlington Tech to place in this category and she is now eligible to compete against other state and international winners at the HOSA International Leadership Conference in Houston this June. Kaelynn only started her specific education for LNA in mid-January and her teacher was extremely impressed with how focused she was on her skill development and how much attention she gave to additional practice and self study outside of the classroom ahead of her competition."

Kevin McNeill - Rice Memorial High School

Kevin McNeil, an eighteen-year old from South Burlington, acted quickly and compassionately when a ski racer in competition with his team became injured and was experiencing blood loss on the mountain. He provided emergency aid and for his heroic act, the senior is being nominated by Rice Memorial High School.

"Senior Kevin McNeill was instrumental in helping an injured ski racer during an Alpine Ski race at Burke Mountain. He was at the top of the slope collecting his teammates’ jackets. From that viewpoint, he could see an opposing skier had fallen during his race. Kevin dropped everything and skied down to help. The injured student had deeply lacerated his leg and because Kevin volunteers with the Shelburne Rescue Department, he could see that the tourniquet was not applied correctly. He re-tied it which helped stop the blood loss. The injured skier required many internal and external stitches and is incredibly grateful to Kevin for his help in this critical moment. We nominate Kevin for Student of the Week because he took action, he used his skills that he developed through volunteering, and he quickly came to the aid of someone in critical need. Kevin has a calm and confident demeanor, a genuine desire to help others, and is incredibly mature for one so young."

Congratulations to Camryn Poulin, Kaelynn Sandvil and Kevin McNeill for being nominated for Student of the Week. You may vote for one or more of them in the poll below.

Contact reporter April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter @aprildbarton.