BHS student heads to New York in the new year

    BRIGHTON — Olena Textoris is ranked No. 1 in her senior class of 327 at Brighton High School. Unweighted, her GPA is 4.4. She finished this semester with all A’s and is graduating valedictorian.

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Olena Textoris, a senior at Brighton High School, looks for scholarship opportunities online as she plans her future at New York University in the fall of 2012.

    She’s an athlete and active in the community through her participation on the Brighton Youth Commission.
    Most recently, the Ukraine native applied for early decision to New York University’s Stern School of Business and received her acceptance letter last week.
    “I’ve worked really hard for it,” Textoris said. “I’ve wanted to go there for three years.”
    Everything is working out. Now comes the question of how to pay for college.
    At her mother’s request, Textoris began applying for scholarships early, searching online databases, such as FastWeb, to reach a larger audience with available funds.
    One program she found allowed students to create their own profiles and essentially vie for scholarships through their different skills, interests and accomplishments.
    After nominating herself, a judging panel of education professionals decided Textoris has what it takes and deemed her a 2011-2012 Discus Award winner. Now that she’s been recognized with an award, she is eligible for a $2,000 scholarship.
    She’s still waiting to hear whether she’ll get that acceptance letter.
    “NYU is very expensive. It’s No. 1 for the worst financial aid in the country,” Textoris said, adding that even if she doesn’t win the Discus scholarship, the award is a nice distinction to be able to put on resumes and applications.
    The Discus Awards originate from a partnership between Campus Direct, an educational services company, and Recognition Media, an awards company that owns and produces leading awards programs and events, including the prestigious Webby Awards.
    High school students from across the country can nominate themselves or their peers to be a Discus winner. Teachers, parents and counselors can also nominate students.
    Winners are named every month, and each month, judges identify one winner who represents the cream of the crop. That student receives a $2,000 college scholarship. By the end of the year, $20,000 in scholarships will have been handed out to students.
    The Discus program features two separate judging panels – an awards panel comprised of volunteers who are teachers and guidance counselor and another panel of education professionals. Entries are scored on a performance scale.
    According to Textoris, the Discus Awards are a little unconventional in their qualifications.
    “The general premise is to recognize people for more than just academics,” Textoris said.
    The purpose of the program is to recognize the uncommon students, which is why nominees have to excel in at least three of 10 areas, including: academics, arts, athletics, community service, faith, government, green, technology, work, or other achievements such as clubs, student activities or overcoming obstacles.
    Textoris was recognized for her achievements in academics, athletics and community service.
    While she’s experienced in tae kwon do, running and skiing, Textoris is most involved in tennis, a sport she’s been involved in for 10 years. The senior has played #1 singles on the BHS varsity tennis team since her freshman year, winning MVP for those first two years of play.
    This year, Textoris takes on the role of captain.
    In addition to playing at school, she’s played several club tournaments, mainly with the Denver Urban Youth Tennis Academy.
    Outside of school and sports, Textoris has been an active participant in Brighton’s Youth Commission, which places youth representatives on adult city boards.
    At NYU, Textoris said she’ll study business administration and management. After that, she might want to go to law school for corporate law or just go on and get her MBA.
    Textoris and her mother immigrated to Brighton from the Ukraine when she was 8.
    “I’ve been hanging out with the same people since then,” Textoris said. “I’ve made a lot of friends here. There are supportive teachers and a lot of resources. There’s just a point when you want to move on. It’s gone by so fast.”
    The bittersweet is dulled when thinking about what comes next.
    “New York is amazing. You can never get bored there. I just think there will be a lot of opportunities,” said Textoris.

Contact Emily Dougherty at 303-659-2522, ext. 225 or edougherty@metrowestnewspapers.com.