The Phoenix Youth and Education Commission announced the winners of the 2006 Outstanding Young Man/Young Woman of the Year awards at a recent luncheon, which also recognized 11 other students and teachers who had the most impact on the honorees. Ben Grossman, a junior at Chaparral High School, is the Outstanding Young Man and Heather Price-Wright, a junior at North High School, is the Outstanding Young Woman.

Grossman has volunteered for six years with the American Cancer Society’s fund-raising event, Relay for Life. In addition to volunteering, Grossman is an accomplished artist and musician. Chaparral High English teacher Barbara Wissmann had the most impact on him.

Price-Wright is active in theater and arts at the Phoenix Center for the Arts, a city facility that houses several youth programs. She is a member the CityJazz youth ensemble and also volunteers at the Golden Gate Community Center. North High history teacher Paul Lowes had the greatest influence on her.

Grossman and Price-Wright each will receive a $1,500 scholarship. They were selected from a group of winners representing Phoenix’s eight City Council districts. The district winners, who will receive $250 scholarships, follow:

Council District 1 - Edgar Marquez, junior, Deer Valley High School, and Chanel Perez, junior, Sandra Day O'Connor High School.
Marquez is an Honor Roll student who learned a new culture and language after his family moved to the United States from Mexico in 1994. Valerie Olson, who teaches English as a Second Language at Deer Valley High, had the greatest impact on him.
Perez excels in academics, volunteers with St. Mary’s Food Bank and raised funds for Hurricane Katrina victims. Dawn Bellows, who teaches dance at Sandra Day O’Connor High, had the greatest impact on her.

Council District 2 - Kamla Tung, sophomore, Arizona Cultural Academy.
Tung is a Student Council member and a volunteer who has assisted the homeless, elderly and the Islamic community. Yaquin Freeman, a former teacher at Arizona Cultural Academy, influenced Tung the most.

Council District 3 - Kristie Beaudoin, junior, North Canyon High School
Beaudoin volunteers with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, plays soccer and is active in student government. She was most influenced by North High English teacher Melissa Lopez.

Council District 5 - Bradley Meese, sophomore, Washington High School, and Hannah Nuñez, freshman, Copper Canyon High School
Meese excels in academics, plays on the baseball team and has been active in community service. Cinthia Darrow, a French teacher at Washington High, had the greatest impact on him.
Nuñez is president of her class, assists several nonprofit organizations with their Web sites and volunteers with Help4Kidz, a foundation formed in memory of her brother who died of a brain tumor. A former home-schooled student, Nuñez said her mother, the Rev. Eve Nuñez, was the teacher who inspired her most.

Council District 6 - Mark Jeng, junior, Desert Vista High School
Jeng volunteers with the Foundation for Blind Children, plays in the school orchestra and is active in student government. Private viola teacher Susanne Rothaar had the most impact on Jeng.

Council District 7 - Stanford Prescott and Tina Branham, juniors, South Mountain High School
Prescott, who skipped two grades, attends South Mountain’s aerospace magnet program and is a member of the Academic Decathlon Team. Todd Decker, who coaches the South Mountain team, had the greatest impact on him.
Branham volunteers with the Irish Cultural Festival, belongs to the Academic Decathlon Team and helps care for her grandmother, who has diabetes. South Mountain High chemistry teacher Patricia Burr was her greatest influence.

Council District 8 - Deyzi Ixtabalan, sophomore, South Mountain High School, and Sharles Simon, junior, Central High School
Ixtabalan participates in the Academic Decathlon class and is a member of the girls’ soccer team. Todd Decker, the South Mountain Academic Decathlon Team coach, influenced her the most.
Simon, who lived in Sudan and Egypt before immigrating to the United States, tutors other Arabic-speaking students and coaches youth soccer. Central High history teacher Paul Bonnet had the greatest impact on Simon.

Editor’s note: Photos of the individual winners are available by contacting Claudina Echeveste at 602-262-7783.