Academic awards are bestowed each spring at Muhlenberg College’s annual Honors Convocation — a formal academic ceremony designed to honor and celebrate leadership and scholarly excellence in the college community. This year’s convocation was held on Sunday, April 27, in Egner Chapel.

Sydney Vogel of Santa Ynez received the Novartis Endowed Science Scholars Program Award, given to a junior or senior science major who has achieved a 3.5 or higher grade point average in the major field of study and who has clearlyindicated the intention to pursue postbaccalaureate work in the sciences leading to an advanced degree.

A graduate of Dunn School, Vogel is studying biology at Muhlenberg College.

Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, four-year residential, liberal arts college in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, with nearly 2,000 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree-seeking students. The college’s curriculum and experiences are designed to open doors to new ideas, discoveries, friendships and a lifetime of personal and intellectual growth.

The post Dunn School graduate recognized for academic excellence at Muhlenberg College appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

BUELLTON — The Buellton Union School District (BUSD) announced April 16 the appointment of Dr. Adam Bailey as its new superintendent, effective July 1, 2025. With over three decades of experience in education and leadership across California school districts, Bailey brings a proven track record of excellence, innovation, and student-centered leadership to Buellton. Bailey will succeed Dr. Randal Haggard, BUSD’s current superintendent, who will be retiring after nine years of dedicated service to the district.

Bailey currently serves as the principal at Carter High School in the Rialto Unified School District in San Bernardino County, where he oversees the education and well-being of approximately 1,900 students. His extensive career includes serving as an administrator at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, an administrator in personnel services for the Riverside County Office of Education, and vice president of school development for Oxford Preparatory Academy.Throughout his career as a classroom teacher and principal, Bailey has focused on increasing student achievement, promoting a positive school climate, and providing safe schools for students, staff, and families in each district he has served.

“Dr. Bailey is a visionary leader whose deep commitment to academic excellence and community collaboration will greatly benefit our students, staff, and families,” said Ryan Sullivan, president of the Buellton Union School District Board of Trustees. “His diverse experience at all levels of education will be an asset to our district.”

A dedicated educator, Bailey holds a Ph.D. in urban leadership from Claremont Graduate University, where he researched the factors that affect teachers’ job satisfaction and how they have a benefit to students in the classroom. Dr. Bailey earned his administrative and teaching credentials, a Master’s degree in educational administration and a Bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from California State University, San Bernardino.

“I am honored and excited to join the Buellton Union School District,” Bailey said. “I look forward to working with our outstanding Board of Education, students, staff, families, and community members to build on the district’s strong foundation and support every student’s success.”

Bailey’s appointment marks a new chapter of leadership for the district as it continues its mission of delivering high-quality education in a supportive, inclusive environment.

For more information, please contact the Buellton Union School District Office at (805) 686-2767 ext. 1.

The post Dr. Adam Bailey selected as next superintendent of Buellton Union School District appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

The Santa Ynez Valley Elks Lodge, in cooperation with Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, has named SYHS senior Nicholas Duran as the April Student of the Month.

Nicholas, known more familiarly as “Nico,” was announced as the winner during the Elks Lodge meeting on April 17 and received a $100 check.

Nico is a student that embodies resilience and determination, having excelled in the school’s special education program while embracing the warmth of the Valley community. 

His high school journey has been punctuated by his newfound passion for football in his senior year — a testament to his adventurous spirit and ability to forge lasting friendships. Nico stated that “he decided to play football to try something new. He made a lot of friends and wishes he had played all four years. He said the summers were hot, but it was still fun.”

Off the field, Nico embraced SYHS’s Career Technical Education pathways, studying automotive mechanics, welding, and culinary arts, both at SYHS and through concurrent enrollment at Allan Hancock College. His aspiration to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, father, and older brother as a welder at Hancock, reflecting his deep-rooted family values and commitment to his chosen career path.

Nico is the student that I might be the most excited to speak about all year,” said SYHS Administrative Assistant Alexa Tomasini. “Nico has worked very hard in our special education program.”

Outside of academics, Nico loves fishing and the beach. His dedication to community service further underscores his role as a valued citizen and a joy to have in any classroom setting. He has matured into an excellent man who everyone who knows him is so proud of.

If Nico could give his younger self advice, he would ask for more help for his disability and not be quiet. He would tell himself to do you and make good choices.

Nico is not just a student; he is a model of resilience, a testament to the power of perseverance and self-discovery. As he prepares for Allan Hancock College, we commend Nico for his unwavering spirit, his dedication to family, and hispositive impact on all who have had the pleasure of knowing him.

The post Nicholas Duran is Santa Ynez Valley Elks Lodge Student of the Month for April appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation is currently accepting applications for its Technology in Schools Program, which provides grants to Santa Barbara County schools seeking to enhance classroom technology. The deadline to apply for funding for the 2025–2026 school year is April 30, and all applications must be submitted online at chumash.gov/foundation. Launched in 2015, the program has awarded more than $550,000 in grants, helping schools purchase new hardware, upgrade infrastructure, integrate high-tech resources, and enrich their curriculum. 

The most recent 2024–2025 recipients include Vista Del Mar Union School District, which received $8,255 to upgrade Chromebooks and its uninterruptible power supply; College School District, awarded $9,173.96 for a 3D printer and interactive whiteboard; Los Olivos Elementary School, which received $10,136 for MacBooks and AppleCare; and Santa Barbara Unified School District, which received $10,000 for digital projectors. Additional recipients include La Colina Junior High School, Orcutt Academy High School, Saint Louis de Montfort Catholic School, San Marcos High School, Lakeview Junior High School, and Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, which used grant funds for tools ranging from robotics kits and laptops to interactive display boards and Esports equipment. The program was born from the success of the tribe’s 2015 charity golf tournament, where proceeds were donated as technology grants to four local schools. Inspired by that impact, the tribe established an ongoing initiative through its foundation to support the evolving technological needs of classrooms across the county. 

For more information or to apply, visit chumash.gov/foundation or call (805) 688-7997. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $30 million to schools, nonprofits, and organizations locally and across the country, continuing a long-standing tradition of community giving.

The post Chumash Foundation’s Technology in Schools Grant deadline approaching April 30 appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Former Buellton resident Victoria Bernard, a Dos Pueblos High School graduate, is one of six Baldwin Wallace University (Berea, Ohio) women’s wrestling student-athletes and one of 400 total women’s wrestlers across all levels of collegiate wrestling to be named as a National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-American.

To qualify for Scholar All-American honors, a student-athletes must excel both on the mat and in the classroom by meeting one of the following academic and athletic criteria:

• A top eight placer at nationals and at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average
• Competed in a minimum of 15 matches that are recorded in Trackwrestling and has at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average
• Was a national qualifier and has at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average

Bernard, who carries 3.56 grade point average in creative writing, garners her first accolade. This season, she won seven matches, tallying three falls and one technical fall.

BW, who was in its inaugural season, finished the 2024-25 campaign with an overall record of 2-1. The Yellow Jackets finished fourth at the NCWWC Region 4 Championships.

The post Former Buellton resident named National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

The post SYHS Safe + Sober Grad Nite organizers seeking donations appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

On a Saturday last month, Dunn School in Los Olivos hosted a large group of budding entrepreneurs from around the country, who polished their presentation skills pitches for their business and product ideas.

On March 1, for the second straight year, Dunn hosted the regional competition for the Diamond Challenge, a competition billed as “The Ultimate High School Entrepreneur Challenge.”

Dunn Head of School Kalyan Balaven welcomed the competitors and help up the event as an example of what his school and the schools represented are trying to convey.

“This event is the perfect example of how education and innovation intersect,” he said. “The students here are not just dreamers, they are architects of our future.”

Although Dunn did not have any students who competed in the Diamond Challenge, the event matches up well with the efforts of the school to teach the philosophies and practices of business and entrepreneurship.

Dunn teacher Chad Stacy oversees the program as the Director of Entrepreneurship and explained how it works.

“At the heart of program is our student-run store 24/7 convenience store, where students can get food and snacks and other needs and pay electronically,” he said. “It’s our main revenue producer, and it’s where our new students are put to learn the basics. It’s real hands-on.”

Stacy said as the students get older, they can branch off into different areas.

“We can offer additional entrepreneurial courses, where the students can propose and make their own products and sell them in their own store,” he said. “And we have students invest some of the money they make from the store in the stock market and see how that can grow.”

Meanwhile, the competition offered a wide range of business ideas and concepts for the judges to evaluate. Presentations were made in two “pitch rooms” representing two categories: Business Innovation and Social Innovation.

In the Business room, judges heard pitches for many different ideas including those for The Chess Mate, a service to find willing players for chess that includes the ability to organize tournaments and look at tutorials to become a better player. There was also a proposal for a company called (eye)deal, that can detect eye disease remotely with an online camera. And there was Fizzle, proposing a device to installed in stoves to keep them from overheating and causing fires.

“I actually had a neighbor in the San Jose area who had his home damaged because his stove caught fire,” said Ishaan Mandala, who teamed with his Silver Creek High classmates Adarsh Sharma and Tanish Srinivas for the presentation.“So I started thinking about how we could help prevent that, and came up with this.”

Over in the Social Innovation room, threat of fire was also the inspiration for a concept called SkyScouts, which was proposed as a system to predict wildfires, so they can be dealt with before they do too much damage. The judges for that part of the competition also heard pitches for MeloSign (with the slogan “Making Music Tangible”), whose creators envision a way for the hearing-impaired to truly enjoy music, with visual cues on a screen and a wearable device on the wrist with hoptic vibrations to allow the person to feel the beat of the music.

Also in the Social category was Rhythmiq, billed as an all-encompassing online tool for professional, amateur, and aspiring dancers that would be a search engine for affordable training and dance studios, and online help to learn dance steps and create your own routines with the help of AI.

David Zheng, Russell Qian, and Suri Li, who all got to know each other through their dance experience were at Dunn to present their idea.

“This presentation and how we did it is kind of recent, but the idea kind of hatched with me about two and a half years ago,” Zheng said. “I was trying to get into auditions for K-pop and while doing that I realized there were so many talented people who just didn’t have a way to get their foot in the door. So I started looking for a way to create something for that, and meeting up with my partners, we tried to find an all-inclusive tool to help dancers and performers.”

After all the pitches were done, the students heard from the event’s keynote speaker Autumn Badelt-Fanning, a Dunn School alumna who created a mobile veterinary business in Paso Robles and now manages a vineyard in that town with her husband. She told the audience about her difficulties getting the mobile veterinary business off the ground before it was successful, and presented it as a lesson to not get discouraged if thing don’t work right away.

At the end, the winners were announced in each category who would advance to the Limitless World Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, on May 1-2.

The winner in the Business Innovation category was Soundwave, the creator of an AI accent moderator for foreign call centers to help they and the customers better understand one another. The winner if the Social Innovation category was GradeWithAI, which use AI technology to modernize methods for grading and “empowering educators to educate.”

The post Dunn School hosts competition for budding entrepreneurs appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

The Santa Maria Valley Elks Lodge honored its two most recent Students of the Month from Santa Ynez High School during recent meetings. Ben Flores is the February honoree, while Mykah Hardy is the March honoree.

Ben, the February Students of the Month, has earned recognition for his athletic exploits, having been a three-sport star all four years at SYHS. He was a team captain and co-MVP in football, team caption and two-time all-league in wrestling, and a four-year varsity letterman in baseball.

Ben is also strong academically, having completed all his A-G requirements to be eligible for a four-year school. 

He hopes to play baseball at Santa Barbara City College or Allan Hancock College and then transfer to Oregon or Cal Poly SLO. He is considering a major in engineering. 

“Ben is such a joy to have on campus,” said Alexa Tomasini, administrative assistant at SYHS. “His attitude is infectious as well as his smile.  I have never seen Ben in a bad mood but I love that I have seen him in a very intense mood. He is someone that gives it all.”

Mykah Hardy, the Elks Student of the Month for March, has distinguished herself with her work in the Santa Ynez FFA. She is currently FFA vice president, participating in public speaking competitions, raising a lamb for the 2025 Santa Barbara County fair, and attended several conferences with SYHS’s FFA chapter, such

as the state conference, where she was a Job interview sectional finalist (public speaking).

Mykah has taken eight college courses and six courses in the A-G pathway. A National Honors Society member, she currently has a 3.5 GPA, and is going to attend Texas Tech University, majoring in pre-vet and minoring in agriculture. She plans to become a large-animal veterinarian specializing in horses and cattle. She has done ride-alongs at Alamo Pintado with Dr. Tyler Stevenson and Dr. Carolina Lopez.

She played varsity softball her sophomore and junior year, serving as team captain her junior year. She also loves rodeo, especially breakaway and team roping, which she does for fun. Outside of school, she currently works at Pico restaurant in Los Alamos a few days a week, and has worked for Fess Parker Ranch Beef, marketing/selling wagyu beef at the Santa Barbara farmers markets on Saturdays and Sundays.

Both students received a check from the Elks Lodge toward future school expenses. Congratulations to Ben and Myka.

The post Ben Flores and Mykah Hardy named Santa Ynez Valley Elks Students of the Month appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

The Santa Ynez High School Theatre Group was able to put its stamp on a memorable Broadway play based on a popular movie, in a show that couldn’t be contained to the stage.

That show was “Andrew Lloyd Weber’s School of Rock,” which the group performed in four shows over three days from March 14-16 at SYHS’s Little Theatre. The show was based on the Broadway musical that itself was based on the 2003 motion picture starring Jack Black.

For those not familiar with that movie, the story follows Dewey Finn (played here by Harvey Ho), an aspiring rock star who gets kicked out of his own band and loses his job at the same time. He happens to take a call meant for his roommate Ned Schneebly (Signy Hansen) and ends up assuming Ned’s identity to take a teaching job at Horace Green School.

After identifying the musical talent in his students, Dewey forms a band out of the fifth-graders in an attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest, all under the suspicious nose of the school’s principal, Rosalie Mullins (Addisynn Laliberte).

The show, in this case the matinee on Saturday, March 15, featured several musical numbers, and in some of them the actors ventured off the stage and into the aisles to perform. One example was “If Only You Would Listen,” as the Horace Green students stood along the front of stage and up each aisle, while singing about their frustration over parents’ expectations. Another was Laliberte performing “Where Did The Rock Go?,” from the back corner as Ms. Mullins begins to soften her no-nonsense exterior. And, there was even a moment when the actors tiptoed through the rows of spectators to simulate their “sneaking out” for their “Battle of the Bands” audition before the principal could catch them.

“I just like to involve the audience as much as I can, and used every bit of space that we can,” said SYHS Theatre Group director and teacher Amy Curti, who was directing her second show at SYHS. “I like that people have to turn around sometimes, and it’s not such a passive experience.”

In the production’s playbill, Curti mentioned in her director’s note that she decided on “School of Rock,” after exchanging “just a few words” with Harvey last summer, and stated that “Harvey Ho is Dewey Finn.”

Harvey’s performance seemed to bear that out; like actors before him, he was able to portray Dewey as a mischievous and rebellious protagonist, but with enough charisma and humility to convince his students to embrace their talents and rebel a little on their own. That message was conveyed with the number “Stick It To The Man,” which may have been the signature tune for the show.

“I really identified with that part of the character, because the kids are so uptight. They’re smart, but they’re kind of brain dead, like they’re not creative,” Harvey said after the show. “I really like how the [Dewey] character brings out that creative side and then gets them having fun.”

It was a familiar kind of role for Harvey, who said he’s played comedic roles before, like Mr. Macafee in “Bye Bye Birdie,” and the grandpa in “You Can’t Take It With You,” though he said the singing parts were new for him.

That was actually the kind of balance Curti sought when she picked “School of Rock” for the spring production.

“It was the first time we did a musical, and I felt it was very palatable,” she said. “And, a lot of musicals have just singing, but this one had acting too, so I thought this would ease us into it.”

Of course, the musical numbers very prevalent in the show. Curti praised the vocal talents of Addisynn for her “Where Did The Rock Go?” number, as well as Anelly Tovalin, who as Tomika didn’t say much until the second act, when with a little push from Dewey belted out a rousing rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

Addisynn expressed after the show how much she enjoyed doing a musical this semester.

“I did ‘Little Women’ back in the fall, but this was different,” she said. “You definitely sweat a lot, because with the singing and choreography we put in a lot more physical effort. But the output was great and it was worth it.”

While the actors did a lot of moving around, the audience was able to hear them clearly as many of them, including Harvey as Dewey, wore wireless microphones while performing. All that due to an outside vendor, Curti said.

“We hired Bill Gaines Audio out of San Luis Obispo, because we haven’t been able to afford our own equipment,” Curti said. However, she said the department is hoping for donations so that it can eventually purchase it on their own.

With two shows under her belt, Curti said she’s looking ahead to next year.

“We’ve already decided to do ‘Emma’ in the fall, since it’s going to be Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in December,” she said. “Then we’ll have another musical next spring, but which one it is will be determined later.”

The post SYHS actors bring the music — and rebellion — in ‘School of Rock’ appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

“School of Rock — The Musical,” is a Broadway show, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the 2003 movie of the same name that starred Jack Black. The musical follows Dewey Finn, an out-of-work rock singer and guitarist who pretends to be a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. After identifying the musical talent in his students, Dewey forms a band of fifth-graders, in an attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest.

Three shows are scheduled at the SYHS Little Theatre: Friday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 15, at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; and Sunday, March 16, at 1 p.m. 

Admission to the shows are $10 for students and $15 for adults. Tickets can be purchased at the ASB Webstore, 

www.syvpirates.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1053708&type=d&pREC_ID=1468681 

The post SYHS Theatre Group to present ‘Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock’ appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.