By Kimberly Foley
(via turnto23.com)
TEHACHAPI, Calif. — The city of Tehachapi and the Pittsburgh Steelers may not appear to have a lot in common, but one Tehachapi high school senior has changed that. Last week, Alexis Bartels was announced as Troy Polamalu’s Student of the Month — a new award the player has come up with.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I’ve seen this guy in the commercials,’” said Bartels, when asked her reaction when she found out she won. “I can’t believe Ms. Evansic did this for me. I was just so happy. I started laughing and crying at the same time.”
While Bartels may have been caught off guard by the announcement, her teacher Danielle Evansic was not. Evansic submitted Bartels to the competition without her knowing.
“On Troy Polamalu’s website he announced he was starting a student of the month program,” said Evansic. “I thought, ‘Well I know a lot of outstanding students,’ but Alexis popped into my mind immediately. I felt she was the right student to nominate for this.”
Polamalu must have agreed with Evansic because out of all the student submissions across the country, he chose Bartels to recieve his first Student of the Month award.
In a letter to the school Polamalu wrote: “There were a lot of worthy entries, but Alexis’ tenacity and dedication stood out to me.”
Tehachapi High School Principal Beverly Thompson had the honor of surprising Bartels with the award and gift basket.
“It’s always rewarding and an honor to have our own recognized for something good they’ve done or how they live their life,” said Thompson.
The past few years haven’t been easy for Bartes. She was once in the running for valedictorian, but then debilitating migraines interrupted her studies and her life.
“I like being really academic, but I’ve also had health and medical issues,” said Bartels. “I hope I can be an inspiration to other people. If they’re going through the same circumstances or different ones, (I want them to know) that they can be strong and still pull through it.”
Evansic said it isn’t just her determination that’s inspiring, but also her intelligence.
“Alexis is somebody to be looked up to,” said Evansic. “She really does have the drive. She wants to get into robotics. She’s a programmer. Boys don’t think girls can program, but they can. She’s somebody that can inspire other girls.”
Bartels received a gift basket from Polamalu that included Steelers paraphernalia, Nike products and an iPad.
Bartels graduates in the spring from Tehachapi High School. She plans on going to college to study robotics and engineering.
