Exchange Club of Lake Highlands presented awards to LHHS students Friday. Shown are: LHHS Principal Dr. Josh Delich, Dominique Conway, Imani Johnson, Colt Brock and Exchange Club VP Robert Walne. Not pictured: Victor Maya.

The Exchange Club recognized outstanding students from Lake Highlands High Friday morning, moving their weekly meeting to the school campus to honor award recipients and the teachers, counselors and administrators who encourage them.

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Robert Walne, VP of Youth for the Club, announced Dominique Conway and Victor Maya as Character Counts Award winners.

Conway, a graduate of Skyview Elementary, enjoys working to better herself and is known for never giving up. The Plato’s Closet employee has eyes on schools like UTA, Texas State, Houston Baptist and Lamar, and says her favorite app is Twitter. If she could meet anyone she’d choose Martin Luther King, and the best advice she’s received is to “keep on trying.”

Conway credits AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) for her success.

“AVID helped me to do things I once thought were impossible. Now I work at a job dependent upon communication, and I’m a band section leader in trombone. I’ve learned FEAR has two meanings: Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise.”

Maya could not attend due to a family conflict.

Imani Johnson and Colt Brock are Students of the Month for September.

Johnson, also a Skyview grad, is an advocate for fellow students and out-of-the-box thinker. The bible-journaling Highlandette plans to study nursing at Baylor or Texas A&M and says she loves Pinterest and TV’s Iyanla Fix My Life. The best advice she’s received is to “know her limits” and she would tell her freshman self to “allow God to guide you.”

After struggling with AP Geography as a freshman, Johnson used best practices from AVID to start an inclusive tutoring group. She now maintains the website, coordinates volunteers, provides snacks, and connects students with outside resources.

“I’ve learned a lot from creating a group on campus – from improved management skills to effective advertising. It’s my hope that this group will remain on campus long after I’ve left high school.”

Brock graduated from LHE and was recently named Wildcat wrestling captain. He completed an internship at Georgia Tech and plans to study architecture there next year. He connects well with people, he says, and doesn’t use apps on his phone. (This revelation drew applause from Exchange Club members.) If he could, he’d tell his freshman self not to wait until sophomore year, but to put his head down and get to work.

Brock’s older brother was recently killed in a hit-and-run accident.

“The loss of my brother was abrupt and out of the blue…We aren’t out of it yet, but the community around us is and will be there through it all. The power shown by that community is something I don’t think I’ll ever see paralleled – an outpouring of love and affection by so many. That community is why I am able to stand here and do what I am doing.”

You can have a great time supporting the work of the Exchange Club by attending their family-friendly Oktoberfest Saturday, Sept. 30 at Flag Pole Hill.

AVID Director Matthew Morris congratulates Dominique Conway as Dr. Delich reads her list of accomplishments

Dr. Delich presents Imani Johnson with her award

Colt Brock receives his award