by JIM CULLEN
COLONNETTA
Hays High School senior Jessica Colonnetta, the daughter of Mike and Rebecca Colonnetta of Buda, has been awarded a Texas Association of Student Councils scholarship, recognizing her high level of personal commitment and service to the organization and its ideals.
Student council sponsor David Bowe said the award is “a huge honor” and notes that every Texas high school senior in student council is eligible for the award.
“Only a few are selected to receive it each year, and Jessica was chosen as one of the top student council members in the entire state,” Bowe said.
Adding emphasis to the honor, Bowe notes that Texas has the largest student council membership in the world, “so for her to be recognized in this way speaks volumes about the kind of member she is.”
In announcing the recognition to Hays High School principal David Pierce, Bowe noted that over the past ten years he and his co-sponsor, Lori Callis, “have had a number of great students, but we have never before had a student receive this particular honor.”
Jessica’s reaction to the news of her selection? “Somewhere between sheer joy and amazement,” Colonnetta said. “It’s a huge honor. I’ve been watching the kids getting this award for years (at previous state TASC conventions) and I’ve wanted to be ‘that kid.’ I’ve met people from all over the state at the conventions and they’re all doing such great things.”
Jessica is among those contributing at the same level locally. She plays trombone in the Hays High School band and serves as band publicist. She’s class senator, parliamentarian for the Parent Teacher Student Association, first vice-president for the local 4-H and is a member of the National Honor Society. Additionally, she serves as a mentor for a first grader at a local elementary school.
The enthusiastic senior, soon headed for Stephen F. Austin State University, said her student council involvement has helped her be a person who “loves helping others and making a difference. It has taught me to believe in myself.”
