Grand County High School’s Students of the Month for May 2016 are Kwincey Wells and Austin Aubry. Both are seniors.
Wells is the daughter of Dennis and Kammy Wells. She said she has “always loved English classes throughout high school, but above all, history and government have been my favorite classes.”
Wells said her most challenging classes have been mathematics.
“Math has always been a struggle for me,” she said. “I feel like I’ve always had to work longer on assignments and stay after school to catch up.”
Wells has been involved in student government at GCHS and just finished her senior year serving as student body officer secretary. She has also participated in a wide variety of sports and activities, including track, volleyball, tennis, soccer, drill and cheer. She served as a wrestling manager this past winter. She also had a lead role as one of the narrators in the school musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” She has been actively involved in drama all four years and hopes to continue developing her theater skills in college.
Wells is a captain of the track team and recently took the region championship in the 300-meter hurdles and placed second in region in both the 100-meter hurdles and the long jump.
Outside of school, Wells has volunteered her time in helping with Little Devil wrestling tournaments, Moab Half Marathon road races and assorted church service projects. She has worked at the Desert Ice snow cone shack, Slickrock Cinemas movie theater, and as a cleaning maid at Hauer Ranch.
After high school, Wells plans to attend Southern Utah University and major in elementary education.
Aubry is the son of Ann Marie Aubry. He says his favorite class is jazz band.
“I love playing music every morning,” he said, adding that he also likes AP English because of the “fascinating literature and discussions,” and government, because of the “real-world issues that affect everyone in society.”
Aubry also cited math as his most challenging school subject.
“My Math 1050 class (an online college-level course) is a headache,” he said.
Some of the many activities that Aubry has been involved in at GCHS include tennis, swim team, Quiz Bowl, jazz band, marching band, concert band, art club and Skills USA. He has been the head of the band’s percussion section for the past two years.
Outside of school, Aubry has been a volunteer DJ at KZMU Community Radio for 12 years. He is also an Eagle Scout. His project involved building percussion carts for the marching band. He also has volunteered at road races and other local events. He has worked at Moab Brewery and at the Spoke on Center, as well as the Chile Pepper Bike Shop.
Aubry plans to attend the University of Utah, where he will play in the jazz band, marching band, and percussion ensemble.
The local Elks Lodge sponsors Grand County High School’s Student of the Month program under the direction of Frank Vaccaro. Jeff Richards is the high school coordinator. The Elks started the program to recognize students who are outstanding in the areas of character, leadership, service, citizenship and scholastic performance. GCHS faculty members choose the selected students, and the Rotary Club and Grand County School District Board of Education also recognize them.
