NyAna Aviles

NyAna is from Central Dauphin East High School and was nomiated by Teagan Travis.

In 2013 NyAna started to suffer seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy. Her seizures caused her to suffer from short-term memory loss. She also had difficulty converting new information into long-term memory. NyAna says the day she started having seizures changed her life. NyAna had to miss several months of school and had to work twice as hard to complete simple tasks that were once easy for her. Instead of giving up, NyAna chose to work hard to overcome her challenges. She keeps a notebook each day full of notes to help her remember instructions, assignments, due dates etc. NyAna never turns in an assignment late. She does not expect special treatment and is not afraid to ask questions or ask to have directions re-explained. NyAna knows how to advocate for herself and she is a leader among her peers. Teagan says, "This young woman is the most determined, responsible learner I have ever had the privilege to teach and she has twice as many reasons not to be." Teagan also notes, "NyAna is determined to walk that stage in June and not only graduate, but graduate on honor roll! she has been the student of the month for several different teachers this year because she puts forth so much extra effort. She has a heart of gold and truly deserves this scholarship.'

NyAna plans to attend Penn State to pursue a degree in Psychology. Her therapist, who she started seeing shortly after her epilepsy diagnosis, inspired her to ultimately want to be a therapist. Congratulations to NyAna on both her achievements and being over a year seizure-free!