Athena Society honors 10 high school juniors

By Ernest Hooper, Times Staff Writer
In print: Friday, April 11, 2008

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The Athena Society, a prestigious group of professional women, recently honored 10 high school juniors as the Young Women Of Promise for 2008.

Gordana Krone, King High: Gordana of West Meadows, a student in the International Baccalaureate program, is captain of the soccer team and a member of the National Honor Society. Later this month, Gordana will attend the March of the Living, an international education program that takes high school students to Europe to visit Nazi concentration camps.

Lianet Vazquez, Chamberlain High: Lianet of North Tampa learned English in three months after arriving in this country from Chile. The Cuban native now is a member of the National, Spanish and Latin honor societies. She also volunteers at Lowry Park Zoo.

Yashobha Ranaweera, Freedom High: Yashobha of West Meadows taught herself to read using preschool books after moving here from Sri Lanka in third grade. She ranks at the top of her junior class.

Alyssa Kahn, Plant High: Alyssa of Davis Islands ranks second in her class and volunteers at Moffitt Cancer Center, the Judeo Christian Health Clinic and the Suncoast Community Clinic in Ruskin.

Michelle Site, Hillsborough High: Michelle of Northdale ranks first in her class in the International Baccalaureate program. She plays the piano and viola, is a member of the Patel Conservatory Youth Orchestra and is a member of student government.

Danielle Renee Grams, Riverview High: Danielle of Riverview is president of Best Buddies, a group that pairs intellectually disabled students in one-to-one friendships.

Taylor Ann Richardson, Tampa Prep: Taylor Ann of Avila has received top academic awards at the school and served as one of the captains of the state champion soccer team. She also counsels students at Graham Elementary.

Hannah Claire Rutherford, Wharton High: Hannah of Pebble Creek is an excellent student diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2002. Since then, she has helped raise more than $10,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Carmen Dickerson, Academy of the Holy Names: Carmen of West Tampa maintains a 4.22 grade point average while working two jobs, including a work scholarship program at the school. The three-year varsity soccer player also is a leading speech and debate student.

Leigh Ann Humphries, Berkeley Prep: Leigh Ann of South Tampa, an honor student and point guard on the varsity basketball team, lives life to the fullest because of the inspiration of her father, who lost his battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) just before she started high school.