Whiz Kid’s Name:   Leah Diaz Whiz Kid’s Grade:   11th Whiz Kid’s School:  Parsippany High School Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:   Donating school supplies to local kids in need All summer long, Leah Diaz worked on her Girl Scout Gold Award project. Her idea was to start a campaign to collect school supplies for needy  elementary school children in Morris County. And she went forward, gathering donations from supporters throughout the community. By summer's end, she had over 50 backpacks stuffed with an assortment of items, including notebooks, folders, paper, pencils, crayons and pencil cases…

Whiz Kid’s Name:  Sue-Jean ChoiWhiz Kid’s School:  2011 Parsippany High School graduate; now a freshman at Boston UniversityWhiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:   Recipient of the “Chance for Success" scholarshipEach year, Realtor Jackie Scura of Re/Max First Choice in Parsippany awards her "Jackie Scura's Chance for Success" scholarship to a local high school senior. Scura said the scholarship is not just about academic achievement; she looks for a candidate who exemplifies a strong work ethic and shows potential for well-rounded success in life and career.  This year's recipient is a driven young…

Whiz Kid’s Name:  Emily Muniz Whiz Kid’s Age: 17 years old Whiz Kid’s Grade: Senior Whiz Kid’s School:  Parsippany Hills High School Whiz Kid’s Awesomeness:  Sharing the art of kindness Emily Muniz is a bridge builder. The Parsippany High senior fused her love of arts and crafts with her passion for community outreach and created a way to bring different generations together. Emily's effort is called the Key to Kindness Project, and its goal is to unite the senior residents of Baldwin Oaks and the youth of Parsippany.   While working as a camp counselor this summer for the Parsippany …

Whiz Kid's Name:  Andrew Seeber Whiz Kid's School: Parsippany High School Whiz Kid's Age:  17 years old Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:  Representative of Jersey Boys State “Serving as a representative of the American Legion’s Boys State Conference has been a life-changing experience. It really opened my eyes to the world of local politics as well as politics on the county and state levels,” said Andrew. Andrew, along with follow high school student Edmond Choi, was chosen among 12 students from the district to attend the prestigious conference. As a senior at Par High, Andrew said he plans to…

Whiz Kid’s Name:  Edmond Choi Whiz Kid’s School: Parsippany High School Whiz Kid’s Age:  17 years old Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:   American Legion Boys' State Attendee For Edmond Choi, one of this summer’s highlights was attending the American Legion Jersey Boys' Stateat Rider University in June.  ALJBS is a week-long program that encourages the youth of New Jersey to take a more active and serious interest in citizenship on the state and national levels.   As one of two delegates selected from Parsippany, Edmond joined over 800 male students from throughout the state for the conference…

Whiz Kid's Name:  Claire Davanzo Whiz Kid's School:   2011 Graduate of Parsippany High School Whiz Kid's Age:  18 Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: Serving as a leader and role model In just 10 days, Claire Davanzo will be a freshman at the University of Delaware. Unlike many college freshmen, Claire already has her sights set on a major and knows exactly who and what she wants to be “when she grows up.”   Claire plans to major in education, specializing in either one of her two loves, English or vocal music.  Her aspiration is to work with either high school or college students not only as an …

Whiz Kid—Brittney Forrest Whiz Kid’s Age: 16 Whiz Kid’s School:  Junior, Academy of Veterinarian Science at Morris School of Technology, Denville Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:   Girl Scout Gold Award Recipient Parsippany resident Brittney Forrest combined her love of animals and her desire to make a difference to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in the Girl Scouts of America organization. Brittney organized and implemented an “Animal Fun Fair” and pet food drive at the Tractor Supply Store in Flanders on June 4.  Attendees enjoyed face painting, crafts and a petting …

Whiz Kid:  Jaclyn Carifi Whiz Kids Age: 9 years old Whiz Kids School:  Littleton Elementary School Whiz Kids Key to Awesomeness: At the tender age of 9, softball player Jaclyn Carifi has the skill and strategy of a player far beyond her years.   As a member of the 9/10 year old Little League All-Star Softball team Destiny, her pitching, hitting and game sense have helped to propel the team to the state championships, which begin tonight in Cherry Hill.     Jaclyn pitched 51 of the 59 innings (86 percent) the team played this season.   According to her coach, Doug Acree, “We have good pitching…

Whiz Kid:  Jordan Whitehead Whiz Kid’s School:  Saint Peter’s Preparatory School, Jersey City Whiz Kids Age: 15 Whiz Kids Key to Awesomeness:   Recipient of prestigious Magis Award When Jordan Whitehead of Parsippany began his freshman year at Saint Peter’s Preparatory School in Jersey City, his mother Janet was a bit nervous.  She was concerned about his hour-long commute, his adjustment from public to private school and his overall academic success.   As it turns out, her fears were completely unwarranted.   Jordan had a remarkable freshman year.   So much so that he was a recipient of the …

Whiz Kid’s Name: Alexa Taylor Whiz Kid’s Age: 8-years-old  Whiz Kid’s School: The Wilson School Whiz Kid Nominated by: Judy Baker, Director, From Houses to Homes Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:  Alexa Taylor from Lake Hiawatha proves that you are never too young to make a difference in the lives of others.     Alexa, adopted from Guatemala as a baby, decided last December that she wanted to do something to help Guatemala’s poor.   Alexa expressed her desire to her mother, Joanne, and they began to research various avenues.   Her mom met with Judy Baker, director of Houses to Homes, a nonprofit…

Whiz Kid’s Name:  Lauren Tormey Whiz Kid’s School:  Parsippany Hills High School Whiz Kid’s Age:  18 Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:  Recipient of the AATF Outstanding Senior in French Award Lauren Tormey recently won this year’s AATF Outstanding Senior in French Award from the French Honors Society at Parsippany Hills High School.  Each year this award is presented to a high school senior based on his or her academic excellence and exceptional commitment to the study of French.   For Lauren, it was her love and dedication to sharing her knowledge of the language with others as the French …

 Whiz Kid’s Name:  Hannah Ververs Whiz Kid’s School:   Mt. Tabor Elementary School Whiz Kid’s Grade:  Fifth Grade Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:  Recipient of “The Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Mt. Tabor Summer Music School Scholarship”  “A love for music, dedication to at home practice and school participation, and respected by peers and teachers alike.”  These are just a few of the characteristics Mt. Tabor Elementary School fifth grader Hannah Ververs has demonstrated as a clarinet player to qualify her as the first recipient of “The Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Mt. Tabor Summer Music School Scholarship.” …

Whiz Kid’s Name: Stéphane Meunier Whiz Kid’s Age: 16 years old Whiz Kid’s School: Parsippany Hills High School Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness:  Completed Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project For Boy Scout Stéphane Meunier, a member of Troop 39 in Morris Plains, the completion of his Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project was not only an opportunity to demonstrate his leadership abilities and the skills he has acquired during his years as a Scout. It was a chance to benefit the members of his Parsippany community.   Meunier was introduced to Bobbie Humphrey, a woman who created a medication …

Whiz Kid’s Name:  Ryan Homler Whiz Kid’s Age: 12 years old Whiz Kid’s School: Central Middle School Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness: Baseball Equipment Drive Ryan Homler, a seventh-grader at Central School, will make his Bar Mitzvah in June. In preparation for this special milestone, Ryan needed to complete an act of kindness or good deed known as a Mitzvah. As a player with the Par-Troy East Little League, he decided to parlay his love of baseball into a valuable community project by implementing the “Donations for Ryan’s Project,” a baseball equipment drive.   Through a vast email campaign, …

Whiz Kid's Name: Korla King Whiz Kid's Age: 11 years old Whiz Kid's School:  Lake Parsippany School Whiz Kid Nominated by: Mom, Dawn Graham  Whiz Kid's Awesomeness:   For Korla King, her journey into the world of pageantry began when she saw a postcard in the mail advertising a state wide competition. Unaware of what was required to become pageant royalty, she returned home empty-handed. Much to her parent’s surprise, Korla was not discouraged and wanted to compete again.   Two years later, after much hard work and dedication, she was crowned the National American Miss Junior Pre-Teen winner …

Whiz Kids:  Expressive Reading Team Whiz Kids School:  Lake Parsippany School Whiz Kids Age: 5th-graders The Lake Parsippany Expressive Reading Team finished first for the second consecutive year in the Parsippany Troy Hills School District competition.  The 2011 team members include Taylor Bellardino (third place), Kristin Taylor (fourth place), Lianna LaRiccia (honorable mention), Juliet Campbell, Janna Belfiore, Rushi Desai and Robert Li, student manager.   The Lake Parsippany students joined their fifth-grade peers from each of the 10 Parsippany elementary schools for the annual …

Whiz Kid’s Name:  William Geiger Whiz Kid’s Age: 7 years old Whiz Kid’s School: Mt. Tabor Elementary School Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness: Received Black Belt in Taekwondo Since the age of 3, William Geiger has been a student of Taekwondo at World Class Martial Arts in Denville. After mastering the various forms, stances, flying and board breaking and completing a three-hour Black Belt test, William received his Black Belt in June of 2010 at age 6. “Even though I was only 6 years old, I took many classes to learn everything I needed to know to be a Black Belt," William said. "I loved when I …

Whiz Kid's Name: Tarun Maddali Whiz Kid’s School:  Central Middle School Whiz Kids’ Age:  13-years-old Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness: Since the third grade, Tarun Maddali has developed a love of geography. When learning about a particular social studies topic, he was not only interested in the who and what, but where these historical happenings occurred. His passion for geography and his love of a challenge placed him in the top 10 at the New Jersey Geographic Bee held last Friday at Rowan University in Glassboro. Tarun was one of 103 out of 400 students in grades four through eight to make …

 Nominator's Name:   Julie Stover-Cocozziello Whiz Kid's Name:  Amanda Nicole Stover Whiz Kid's: Age 11 Whiz Kid's School:  Littleton School Whiz Kid's Accomplishment:  Ability to overcome any obstacle with perseverance. Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness (what made him/her successful?): Amanda Stover has faced many challenges in her life.   When she was younger, she was diagnosed with ADHD. She had difficulties with speech, physical deficits, and social delays. She was also much taller and larger than other children in her class. Amanda was often treated as an outcast by her peers, left to play …

Nominator's Name:  Linda Clark, PHHS Choir Director Whiz Kids Names:   Joe Clement, Sophomore and Sky Su, Senior Whiz Kids School:     Parsippany Hills High School Whiz Kids Key to Awesomeness: When PHHS sophomore Joe Clement and senior Sky Su of Parsippany Hills High School were recently chosen to attend the prestigious American Choral Directors Association 2011 National Men's Choir in Chicago it became a life-changing event for both of them.    Both Joe and Sky were selected from among 1000 choral students from across the nation to be part of the all male honors choir.    “To be among 278 …