Stephanie Caldwell, Chamber President & CEO, Kiernan Rickard, Nan Drake, Citizen of the Year and David Creswell, VUSD Superintendent celebrating Kiernan’s award. Photo by Richard Lieberman.
by Amber Hansen
The 20th Annual Poinsettia Awards Luncheon, presented by the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, was held on January 19th of this year at the Ventura Beach Marriott. Kiernan Rickard was this year’s recipient of the Ventura Unified School District’s Male Student of the Year award. Kiernan is a senior at Ventura High School with a history of academic dedication and an impressive repertoire of achievements. His packed schedule includes running for Ventura High’s cross-country team and acting as a senior officer in the music department.
Having discovered an aptitude for computer programming at a young age, Kiernan is a leader on the Ventura High robotics team- an accomplishment that earned his nomination for the first Robotics Dean’s List. He plans on pursuing a career in computer programming and hopes to enroll in Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science.
When asked how he felt about receiving the award, Kiernan said he was surprised because he’s surrounded by intelligent peers. He expressed immense gratitude and acknowledged that he could not have done it without the support he’s had from family and teachers.
