The familiar ding of the intercom sounds in the room. Everyone goes silent “Can I get Henrique Arantes and Hadlee Scott to the office.” The two people stand up leaving their economic class and nervously head for the hallway. Were they in trouble? They step into the office where Principal Jeremey Chilek waits with a smile. He announces proudly that they both won the Student of the Year Award.
Seniors Scott and Arantes won the Chamber of Commerce Student of the Year Award. They were chosen based on their achievement in sports and academics.
“It’s crazy that I am Student of the Year because I have been here my whole life,” Scott said. “It’s kind of the topping on the cake.”
Scott is Involved in varsity soccer as captain, drill team as a social officer, student council as co-president and NHS. She is also ranked third in her class.
“She is reserved and just takes care of business,” Chilek said. “She is the type that goes above and beyond academically. “
In school, Scott takes a variety of AP and TJC classes. She plans to attend Texas A&M and major in Public health and pursue a secondary degree in the medical field.
“This award has impacted me because it gave me motivation to keep going,” Scott said. “Somethings that you do go unrecognized so this award just proves that I’m doing the right thing and to just keep going and keep moving forward.
Arantes has lived in Lindale for 8 years after moving here from Brazil. He participates in classes such as CMA and A&P, and takes AP calc and AP physics. Arantes is currently ranked 12 in his class.
“He does a great job academically here,” Chilek said. “He has just always been an individual who helps to raise the level of Lindale High School.”
Outside of school work, Arantes participates in track and field, NHS, Key Club, Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy, Texas Bank and Trust Student Board, flies planes, and is highly involved in his church.
“This award kind of encourages me to keep going and keep dedicating myself to what I want to do,” Arantes said. “It just tells me that it’s paying off.”
Arantes plans to attend UT Tyler on a $40,000 scholarship and major in Biochemistry. Afterward, he will attend med school and focus on either family medicine, internal medicine, or general surgery.
“What motivates me is my desire to be an impact on people’s lives. Throughout the years I have realized there are a lot of injustices in the world all that we can do is take care of people and do the best that we can to make people’s days better.”
