Erica Ma was a clear choice for this year's Top Cougar Award. Like Hannah Buck, last year's choice, Erica was the Chief Publisher and Editor of the "Eye of the Cougar." As I always do before making the selection for the top spot in the newsletter class, I went out to the language arts teachers for their opinions. They all said that Erica would be a superb choice. The selection of Erica is even more impressive when you take into consideration the other students who were seeking out this position, students like Emily Soule and Rachel Clark. When I selected Erica, Emily and Rachel, both very close friends of Erica, told me that she was the right person for the job. Erica is an outstanding academic student. Every thing she does she does to perfection. Her leadership skills are incredible. She was able to get the most out of each of the students in class. Everyone was willing to give their best with Erica at the helm, including me.
Erica did not attempt to run the show entirely on her own. She knew that she had some very talented classmates in the class and she utilized their abilities. Her guidance, leadership, and ability to delegate out the work load is why this year's newsletter class was probably the best I've had, and I've had some good ones. Erica spent numerous hours after school fine tuning the newsletter and proof reading each story. She would make comments on each student's work before giving the work back for finalization. Emily and Rachel both spent time with Erica after school bouncing ideas off each other and critiquing the work of their peers. It was a lesson to me to witness such productive group work. Erica knew she was in charge, however, was always willing to listen to, consider, and act upon the suggestions of those working with her. Erica is also a very organized individual. Her file management skills are incredible. I found myself asking her all the time where a particular file might be, where my flash disk was, even where I was! She might even be more organized than Ms. Otness. She was the perfect student leader. Erica is a wonderful person. She has an infectious and delightful personality. I Thoroughly enjoyed having Erica in class. I must also mention that Erica was published several times in the Key Peninsula News. Everyone likes Erica and she'll be missed at KPMS. PHS is very lucky!
