Community Stories

Sutter County Superintendent of Schools is proud to announce that Cynthia Ortega, SCSOS DHH student, has been named a YCHS Student of the Month for October. She was nominated by her teacher, Kathleen Wankmuller.
“Cynthia is an exceptional student,” Kathleen said. “She spearheaded the ASL Club on campus for the past three years because she felt it was important for her peers to understand deaf culture and to appreciate the beauty of deaf language. She has never allowed her disability to hold her back.”
Cynthia has had a difficult year. She lost two family members in one week and she began living with her mom instead of her dad. Through it all, Cynthia continues to strive for excellence. “I enjoy taking on leadership roles,” Cynthia said. “I strive to be a role model for other students.”
Cynthia worked part-time at Geiser Pets until this summer while she maintained high grades in honor classes. During the summer of 2019, she enrolled in a summer science program at Sac State hosted by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. NTID was so impressed with Cynthia, they offered her a scholarship to continue the program in New York. (Her father declined due to her young age.) This year, Cynthia continues to excel in her classes while helping to support her siblings at home while her mother works.
“Cynthia is an intelligent and hard-working student with a bright future ahead of her,” SCSOS Special Education Principal Tejinder Khera said. “She is well connected with local agencies that advocate for DHH students. She is well liked by her peers and teachers. She aspires to become a teacher for DHH students and shared that one day would like to come back and work for SCSOS in that capacity.”
We are so proud of Cynthia and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

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PUBLISHED: aUGUST 11, 2020