Carner, Gutierrez, Mendoza and Winfield honored as Students of the Month

Four talented individuals – a mathematics wizard, a tremendous giver, a quiet scholar and a potential pro golfer – were honored as the Students of the Month for April at a special recognition breakfast, April 5, at North Coast Church.

Nathan Carner, Esmeralda Gutierrez and Juliza Mendoza of Fallbrook Union High School and Sebastian Winfield of Oasis High School were celebrated for their achievements in and out of the classroom.

Carner was the first student to be saluted, and he was introduced to the audience by the teacher that nominated him, Debbie Berg, who said Carner aced her calculus AB class last year and is currently taking calculus 2.

"Nathan is one of the top students that I have taught in my 24 years teaching," Berg said. "He has a pretty impressive resume. He has a 4.65 GPA. He has taken every single honors or AP class we offer at the high school. He's even begun an AP statistics class. He has readied himself for the rigors and demands of the next level."

Berg said Carner loves the challenge of solving difficult math problems.

"He's really a strong problem solver, and he plans to use these strengths to fix the world's problems," Berg said. "He is interested in biochemistry, and he wants to do research solving genetic inconsistencies."

Berg said that Carner is not only part of the school's academic decathlon team, he's also a member of the swim team and he reached the state championship meet while competing in the demanding butterfly.

Carner – as did all the students honored – began his speech by thanking the Student of the Month committee, his teachers, the community and his family. He said he will be attending either the University of California Los Angeles or San Diego to study biochemistry.

"I want to help the world and try to solve problems but that wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't had such a wonderful high school experience," Carner said. "Some people say, 'Fallbrook doesn't have the most opportunities,' but that's because they don't look. There's the academic team, the academic decathlon, there's the sports teams – there's plenty of awesome opportunities in the high school, it's just simply that people need to look for them.

"I was one of those people, and I'm better off for it," Carner said. "It's been a wonderful time in high school. I've got to know wonderful friends and wonderful teachers and had awesome classes."

It was fitting that teacher Connie Fellios – who, to her surprise, was lauded throughout the program by her peers for her kindness and professionalism – nominated Gutierrez, a student Fellios called "one of the most giving, kind students I've had in my many years of teaching."

Fellios relayed that Gutierrez, who everyone calls Esme, carries a 3.8 GPA with Advanced Placement courses and was the runner-up for "Senior Girl of the 2017-2018 School Year." Fellios said Gutierrez serves on many committees, including as a trained leader for "Breaking Down The Walls," a program that helps students to learn to be more tolerant and befriend all people.

"Genuine and caring, Esme looks for ways to help and please others in the classroom as well as with committee work and organizations," Fellios said. "She has a reputation everywhere of being a giver. She doesn't necessarily have time in her active schedule to add more commitments, but she makes time just to help others. We can all learn from her acts of kindness toward all."

Fellios said that Gutierrez has made a "tremendous positive impact" on the Fallbrook High community and that "there is no doubt she will succeed in college and some day professionally."

"It is my pleasure to introduce a student who has made a lifetime impact on me," Fellios said. "I'm just so proud of her."

Gutierrez said she was honored and blessed by the award.

"I wouldn't be the person that I am today if it hadn't been for all the helpful people that have guided me and taught me something or showed me something new in this world," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez, who has performed nearly 2,000 hours of community service through her high school career, also helps her parents raise her two younger siblings.

"I don't do this just to do it; I do it to be a role model," Gutierrez said. "I strive to be the best person because I have a 4-year-old sister who one day I hope becomes someone similar to me, if not better than me. I'm hoping she turns out smarter, more courageous and more bold. She's my everything, and so I do this for her and for my brother because they look up to me whether they admit it or not."

Gutierrez said she plans to study psychology in college, adding, "I want to someday have my own clinic and run it and maybe it will be here in town."

Teacher John Kroeger nominated Mendoza while admitting he was at a loss for words.

"Well, I have to nominate my best student, but I'm not sure what to say because we never talk," Kroeger said, but he went on to say he learned about Mendoza through her work.

Kroeger learned that Mendoza, who has a 4.07 GPA, reads a book a week and when she shockingly "bombed" on a test it was only because Kroeger said he had "graded her test with the wrong key, so it turns out it was a 98 percent, not a 62."

Kroeger said the more he learned about Mendoza, the more he kept asking himself, "who is this?"

"We did a political ideology project in government, and they had to discuss the 10 most controversial issues going on in society right now," Kroeger said. "In her summary, she wrote, 'I am an open-minded person, and I believe there is always room for improvement. Our society has many issues that need to be addressed and fixed but we can't do that if we rely on how everything has been done before.' I was like, 'who is this girl?'"

Kroeger, who explained he has been suffering from sleep deprivation courtesy of an 8-month-old, completed his introduction of Mendoza by looking at her and saying, "I have a little baby of my own. I already know she's not going to be as quiet as you because she's absolutely insane. But if she has your tenacity in the classroom, your ambition, etc., I will be very, very blessed."

Mendoza said she was honored to be there with her fellow Student of the Month winners and that she plans to attend Palomar College and then transfer to San Diego State University.

"I want to become a dietician," Mendoza said. "I believe that to have a better world we need to start with our health, and that's what I aspire to do."

Oasis High teacher Tracy Markham introduced Winfield, who transferred to Oasis halfway through his sophomore year so he would have the ability to travel and participate in golf tournaments while going to school. At Oasis, students study independently and meet with teachers once a week for one hour to make sure all assignments are completed.

"He wanted the opportunity to work on his golf and keep up on his studies, and he's done extremely well," Markham said of Winfield. "He's improved every year. Academically, he's obviously done the AP courses, but he's taken advantage of pre-calculus, human anatomy and physics. He just completed AP government, and he's currently completing AP psychology as well. He's one of those kids that is so organized."

Markham said that Winfield's golfing has taken him across the country to many events, including the junior world golf championship in West Palm Beach, Florida, last year. She said he is mature enough to handle a busy golf schedule and school.

"Teaching Sebi doesn't seem like teaching," Markham. "It's more of a conversation with another adult, which I really, really enjoy. Sebi is one of those students who challenges me, who kind of asks me what I know to compare with what he knows. I appreciate that, and I am really looking forward to seeing where he's going. I'm very proud of him."

Winfield said he was thankful for the opportunity to attend a school like Oasis.

"Once I found out about Oasis, I decided to try it out, and it was just the perfect fit because it gave me the time and freedom to pursue what I want to do in the future," Winfield said. "Miss Markham has helped me tremendously."

Winfield thanked his father for "taking him everywhere and supporting him financially and mentally and spiritually with everything I've done."

Winfield added that his golfing prowess has landed him the opportunity to play on the San Jose State golf team.

"I am so excited to play Division 1 golf at San Jose State and study entrepreneurship," Winfield said. "If playing professionally doesn't work out, I want to teach. I love helping other people learn the game of golf. That's what I'd love to do and what I want to do."