The Delaware Area Career Center recently announced the eight student winners of the Career Portfolio contest with each student taking home an award and $250.
The Career Portfolio contest is intended to help each student showcase his or her achievements in high school and is meant to be used to help them apply for scholarships, jobs and college. Students created their portfolios using documents, photos, and videos that helped showcase their specific skill sets, experiences, volunteer work and extra-curricular activities.
One student from each of the seven county high schools and a student from the DACC were chosen for the prizes by a panel of judges made up of community members, business members and educators.
The eight students chosen as the winners were:
• Abigail Costello, Big Walnut High School
• Alisa Stricklin, Buckeye Valley High School
• Brian Whitesel, Delaware Area Career Center
• Shreya Ghanekar, Olentangy High School
• Kristen Lillemoen, Olentangy Berlin High School
• Nitish Dashora, Olentangy Liberty High School
• Mia Jakubowski, Olentangy Orange High School
• Alyssa Graham, Rutherford B. Hayes High School
Costello said she is “honored” by the award and happy to represent Big Walnut in the contest.
“The core of Big Walnut High School is built on its academic programs and high achieving students,” she said. “Being able to call myself a Golden Eagle is something I will never take for granted.”
Costello said via email last month that she plans to study biochemistry at The Ohio State University this fall and will specifically be focusing on cancer research.
Dashora said after she learned she was one of the winners she was “extremely honored” and said it is “amazing to be distinguished alongside like-minded peers of mine.”
“Being a Career Portfolio contest awardee has given me the opportunity to network with students that share similar work ethic and commitment yet exhibit highly different skill sets,” Dashora said. “Upon reading the judge comments for my portfolio, I was happy to see how well-regarded the culmination of my high school career is to experts in the field. I am deeply appreciative of the time the judges have taken on the portfolio reviews, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of the DACC Portfolio Contest. These thoroughly written reviews have also encouraged me to eagerly continue my career in computer science.”
Dashora said she’ll be attending UC Berkeley to study electrical engineering and computer science (EECS).
“Through my time studying EECS, I hope to explore the vast array of research sectors within the field of artificial intelligence (AI),” Dashora said. “This includes bioinformatics, quantum information, algorithmic research, finance, and much more. Additionally, I plan to embrace the rich startup culture within Silicon Valley through internships and entrepreneurship. As of now, my dream is to become an AI engineer, and I hope to discover my domain expertise through my college experience.”
Jakubowski said the prize made her feel like her work throughout high school paid off.
“I felt very honored to receive this prize and win this award,” Jakubowski said. “It validated all of the hard work I had put in all throughout high school in both academics and athletics.”
Jakubowski said she’ll be attending The Ohio State University this fall to study biology on a pre-optometry track.
Whitesel said he plans to do work in the field of video production and will be working towards a business degree at Columbus State Community College. He said he already has plans for his prize money.
“I am very grateful to have been chosen for this prize,” Whitesel said. “The money will be used towards equipment to create better quality work and get closer to my competition.”
Graham said she’s proud to have received the award and plans to study advertising and graphic design at Bowling Green State University.
“I felt very honored and proud to receive this award as I worked very hard on my Career Portfolio, and I thought it displayed my accomplishments pretty well,” Graham said.
Lillemoen said she’ll be studying microbiology at The Ohio State University this fall, and she aims to later gain a doctorate in microbial epidemiology.
“I felt incredibly excited to be one of the winners,” Lillemoen said. “I worked hard on my portfolio, and I was glad that my effort paid off.”
According to the DACC, the contest is sponsored by Consolidated Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Association; Manos, Martin & Pergram Co., LPA; Ohio Living Sarah Moore; Richwood Bank; Sunbury/Big Walnut Area Chamber of Commerce; United Way of Delaware County; and Willow Brook Christian Communities.
