ST. GEORGE – A high school senior who dedicated two years to advancing his higher education early at Dixie Applied Technology College was rewarded Monday when the school named him its 2015 Student of the Year.
The award was given Ben Lords at a luncheon hosted during festivities honoring the college’s “Student Appreciation Day” at the DXATC Emergency Response Training Center in St. George.
The two finalists selected were Lords and Samuel Lytle. Lords was awarded the title, along with a check for $1,000; first runner-up Lytle received $500.
This year’s winner is still a senior in high school and began his journey with DXATC two years ago while deciding on a career path. Now he has all this education completed before he even graduates high school, Lords said.
“Now I’m kind of, have a path that I’m headed on and looking forward to see where it takes me,” he said.
DXATC treated students, staff, sponsors and board members to an afternoon luncheon that included prizes, college President Kelle Stephens said, and recognition of Lords as this year’s Student of the Year award recipient.
The DXATC Student of the Year program is a competition that requires a rigorous process for those students who wish to be considered for nomination by the committee. Along with maintaining minimum program requirements, each eligible student must also meet the following criteria:
- Receive a recommendation from their instructor
- Submit a written essay
- Develop and execute a presentation before a large group
Upon completion, the selection committee narrowed down the pool of students to several finalists who made a presentation to DXATC faculty. From there, the committee selected two finalists with the winner being announced at Monday’s luncheon.
“Every single student that comes to us has a story,” Stephens said, “and honestly every single student is a potential Student of the Year, they’re all fantastic.”
In addition to cash prizes given to the two finalists, DXATC also gives a $2,500 program budget award to the winning student’s program director. This year’s award went to Kevin Pfunder, director of graphic design and web development for the college.
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