The Rotary Club of Westerville, which sponsors a Student of the Month program, recognized recipients at a luncheon at Villa Milano held on Thursday, March 3. March students are: Ryan Menapace, Westerville Central High School; Matt Gerardi, Westerville North High School; and Nicole Friedel, St. Francis DeSales High School.
The purpose of the program is twofold: to recognize outstanding students who have distinguished themselves by serving their school and to expose them to the Rotary Club and its ideal of “Service Above Self.” Students selected join Rotarians for lunch every week for a month, and have the opportunity to interact with members.
Ryan Menapace, a senior at Westerville Central, holds a 4.32 grade point average (GPA) and enjoys studying Science. He is a member of the National Honor Society, plays on the varsity basketball team (co-captain), and serves as a tutor for pre-calculus. Menapace is on Central’s Academic Varsity (top 10 students in his class), is a scholar-athlete (2012-2016), and was named a 2016 Ohio Capital Conference Scholar Athlete. He is also an active member at St. Paul Church, where he has volunteered at the St. Stephens Soup Kitchen, for holiday meal assembly at the Central College Presbyterian Church, and at Little Hoopers Basketball camps. He plans to play basketball and major in Biology/Pre-Med at Marietta College.
Matt Gerardi holds a 3.68 GPA at Westerville North, where his favorite subjects of study are Math and Science. He is involved in bowling (team captain), Warrior Way Leadership, and the Recycling Club. In high school he earned a Merit Award and an Outstanding Scholarship Award. He volunteers at the Boy Scout pumpkin patch and is a Benevolent Warrior. Gerardi plans to major in Environmental Science at Columbus State.
Science, Biology, Anatomy and Italian are Nicole Friedel’s favorite subjects. The senior at St. Francis DeSales holds a 3.92 GPA. She is a cheerleader and a member of the National Honor Society. She volunteers at Riverside Methodist Hospital and is an employee at Gigi’s Cupcakes. Friedel plans to study Nursing at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing.