January Students of the Month named at Royal High School

ROYAL CITY - Royal High School has announced the January winners of Student of the Month.

The SOM are nominated by counselor Mark Kondo for excellence in several personal attributes, such as academics, citizenship and leadership. The educational staff makes the final selections.

January's honorees were freshman Daisy Rodriguez, sophomore Sawyer Stakkeland, junior Areisy Espino and senior Vanely Ruiz.

Espino is the daughter of Gustavo and Ernestina Espino. She is a member of the chamber choir, which is her favorite class. Her favorite song is "Thinking Out Loud" and she loves to play family games.

Espino likes to say "Leave a little sparkle wherever you go." Her inspiration is Alex Ramos, who said, "You just gotta try" in chemistry class.

Stakkeland is the son of Shannan and Parrish Stakkeland. He enjoys history class, the movie "The Office" and chow mein, beef and broccoli. His favorite song is "I Am a Child of God."

Stakkeland enjoys football and is a member of the Royal team. His favorite activity is watching NFL football.

Stakkeland's favorite quote is "Just do it." and he is inspired by his hard-working father. His advice is "Give your all, 100 percent, every day."

Ruiz is the daughter of Esequiel and Berth Ruiz. She is an accomplished photographer, photography is her favorite class and photography is her favorite activity.

Ruiz likes the movie "Mean Girls" and enjoys a good hamburger. She likes to bake, and Paula Deen is her inspiration.

Ruiz's favorite quote comes from Bill Gates, who said: "If you can't make it good, at least make it look good."

"Do your calculus homework," Ruiz advises.

Rodriguez is the daughter of Isidro Rodriguez and Maria Alvarado. Her favorite class is choir, and she likes the movie "The Fault in our Stars."

Rodriguez likes pizza and sports and enjoys the song "Thinking Out Loud."