Holbrook High School freshman Alex Reid attended a program for outstanding middle school and high school students from across the nation last month as part of the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Pathways to STEM, held in Los Angeles, Calif. NYLF Pathways to STEM is one of the Envision family of programs that enable students to explore their interests and experience learning beyond the classroom. Alex, who is 14, was nominated to attend the forum based on the AZ Merit scores that he earned in eighth grade at the Holbrook Junior High School. In addition, Alex has participated in afterschool programs that were offered during last school year from his math teacher Beth Plumb and his English teacher Estefana Chavez. He also was selected by his teacher Joy Burroughs, as one of 14 other eighth graders to attend a leadership program that Navajo County hosted. Alex said that this opportunity has helped him to grow a lot, thanks to the wonderful teachers he had. In addition to his studies, Alex is very passionate about baseball and has played in Holbrook Little League since he was 9-years-old and the Holbrook Junior High School league the last two years. He plans to join the Holbrook High School baseball team this year. Alex has dreams of becoming a police officer and eventually an FBI agent after graduating high school as he plans to pursue a degree in forensic science. Alex looks forward to gaining hands-on with the medical field and the Forensic Science field experience that the forum provides. “NYLF pathways to stem is a great opportunity for high-achieving scholars to get outside the classroom and see, through hands-on interactive learning, how to innovate and think creatively,” said Andrew Potter, the Chief Academic Officer for Envision. “These students, who have already proven themselves academically, will be challenged to work on real-world, student-created projects to bring their studies and career interests to life.” Since 1985, Envision programs have served more than 800,000 students in more than 145 countries, with programs designed to help students develop the leadership, scholarship and career skills needed to succeed in today’s competitive college and career landscape. Alex is the son of Brian S. and Peggy Reid of Holbrook.
