She looked at the camera with a bright smile as she held up her plaque. She walked away proud to know she had won a prestigious award.

Senior Jessie Elliott was named Student of the Year for Lindale High School by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. Jessie and other students from the region met at Whitehouse High School to receive their awards.

“I am incredibly honored to have received this award,” Jessie said. “It was nice to be acknowledged not only for my academic accomplishments, but my extra curriculars, and my overall personality.”

TASSP is an organization of junior high and high school principals.  Principal Casey Neal, who was involved in selecting Jessie for this award, is the Region 7 TASSP representative, and a board member for the state.

“We chose Jessie not just because of her ranking, but her extracurricular achievements as well,” Mr. Neal said. “She excelled in theatre and UIL scholastic events.”

There were 25 high schools who had one student at the award ceremony. They were all presented with their awards at this event.

Jessie Elliott is the valedictorian for the graduating class of 2014. She has had leading roles in UIL One-Act plays and placed first in UIL news writing, feature writing, and editorial writing last year at the state level.

“It was cool to meet kids like me from other schools,” Jessie said. “I can’t believe I was selected out of all the students for this award.”