Jimenez, Fluck, Gallegos and Sim honored as Students of the Month

Lucette Moramarco

Associate Editor

The Fallbrook Union High School District honored its latest set of Students of the Month March 3 at North Coast Church. The honorees were Jenny Jimenez of Oasis and Fallbrook High students Dawson Fluck, Damon Gallegos and Nolan Sim.

FUHS Superintendent Ilsa Garza-Gonzalez started off the ceremony with an update on what's been going on at the high school. She said that during the pandemic when everything was shut down, her advisory council held a meeting in 2019 and Gallegos showed up. They talked about how to reinvent normal. For her it was in gardening.

Garza-Gonzalez started growing succulents and went to the farmers market in downtown Fallbrook to buy some. One Saturday, she bought flowers instead and Gallegos was selling them. She remembered him and stopped by his booth every Saturday after that. During the darkness of the time at the high school, "our students were still out there," she said. "You don't know the impact you have on other people;" in visiting him, she added, he became her anchor.

All four students this month shared a characteristic aside from good grades; they were all described as always smiling and having a positive impact on others.

Garza-Gonzalez introduced Ivy/Oasis High School Principal Michael Gray who in turn introduced teacher Kevin Kent who nominated Jimenez. He said he nominated her with "great pride and enthusiasm" as she has a 4.0 GPA for the last three semesters and a 3.96 total since her freshman year. She does "excellent work," he said, "is meticulous, organized, shows great dedication and creativity, is thoughtful, cheerful and always has a smile." He added that she is a positive person who cares for others and who has "a skill set to do anything she wants."

Jimenez's sister said she is proud of her while their mother said she has seen the great effort her daughter has put into school, adding that she also works.

Jimenez thanked the coordinators of the event, the Oasis staff, principal and Kent for making her experience at Oasis a good one; "he motivates me to get through [school] with his positivity; he has made my stay memorable." She also thanked her parents and sister. She plans on going to Palomar College, then transferring to a four-year college to go into the medical field.

Fallbrook High Principal Lauren Jones then introduced the first student from Fallbrook High, pulling out a box of tissues. She said it is a life lesson, we "always need a tissue."

Fluck is a four year member of JROTC, always has a huge smile on his face and is incredibly positive, Jones said; he is also an AP student and on the cross country team. Marco Arias, his coach, nominated Fluck; he said that he reads the Student of the Month stories in the Village News and asked Fluck if he had been nominated. Fluck said, "No and I don't need to."

Arias went on to say that he tries to "instill character, work ethic and citizenship" in his students. He has worked with Fluck since he was a freshman athlete and realized he doesn't need to teach him those traits, so he tells himself, "don't screw it up." When Fluck was sidelined by an injury, he became a mentor to the younger runners and gave them tips, cheering them on. Arias' son told him Fluck deserves it (the SOM honor). "When other students validate who you are, it says something; he hasn't made any poor choices," Arias said.

His mother, Beth Fluck, said her son was homeschooled through eighth grade; he is a captain in JROTC and of the track team, is on the honor roll and "goes above and beyond, leading by example as a servant leader and a man of integrity."

Fluck thanked his family, girlfriend, his "awesome coach" and the Lord. He plans to go to Palomar for the EMT program and then the Fire Academy.

Choir teacher Heather Smith said she's been waiting for four years to nominate Gallegos for Student of the Month. Besides being in choir, he is in Ag and president of FFA, is on the Academic Decathlon team, ASB, honor roll and is the student rep on the FUHSD board. Another teacher, Alana Milton, also nominated Gallegos. Smith read from Milton's nomination letter which said that he is "taking full advantage of all FHS has to offer" including being editor of the school paper and a leader that people gravitate to, "making a positive impact."

Smith said Gallegos has been an amazing leader in her choir class, a joy on stage, a hard worker, in the National Honor FFA Choir; he works too, "juggles so amazingly well, never says no to anyone, comes and helps with a smile, mentoring drama club students backstage instead of being in the spotlight."

Gallegos said,"It is an honor and a privilege to get to be here. I don't do much in the community but 75% of you in back, I know you....I work a lot; I want to do more and hope to impact others, welcoming them into the conversation." He thanked board president Jones and VP Summers for being there.

As for his future, Gallegos said he wants to go to either Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Chico State for a B.A. in animal science, then go to UC Davis for a doctorate in veterinary science to be a small animal vet.

Jones introduced Sim next who she said is an honor roll student and an AP Scholar with Distinction having passed at least five AP exams with an average score of 3 as of 11th grade. He will be taking more tests at the end of this school year.

Sim was nominated by Marin Pinnell who said the Sim family has been in Fallbrook a longtime – they owned Richardson's Drive-In which is now Pedro's Tacos, part of a great community. Sim is one of her all time favorites; she has had all three Sims in her class. Her theme for this student is "loyalty."

"He is very loyal to everyone; a top student, very bright; he shares his information with his peers; he explains, helps them to get it." When he took her class with his brother Logan, he didn't compete with him, they supported each other, she said. He is a little competitive with his younger sister, works with his father in the family business, is loyal to his friends, supports them at basketball games and is the leader of the volleyball team, she added.

Sim's father agreed that he is very loyal and shows leadership. During COVID, his son got into tennis and they played together; four months later, his son beat him. "I'm proud of him, the man he is, has become, will be."

Sim thanked everyone there; "being recognized is heartwarming, makes us feel special, because we are," he said. He has applied to Stanford, UCLA and Irvine; he is planning on majoring in mechanical engineering.

Fallbrook Student of the Month is a nonprofit dedicated to honoring outstanding students in the Fallbrook Union High School District. For more information regarding the nomination of a student or sponsorship of this program, contact Lynne Grantham, 760-214-1755 or [email protected].