Q: What do you enjoy most about serving on the St. Johns County School Board?
A: One of my favorite things is to celebrate and honor the hard work of our students, teachers, families, volunteers, and business partners. It truly is pure joy. St. Johns County School District schools are brimming with energy and enthusiasm with our commitment that foster learning environments that prioritize both academic excellence and student well-being, as well as embracing innovation in education. This was fully displayed as we celebrated our students’ achievements at the county Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) awards ceremony. STEM is interwoven throughout our educational system. The opportunities for students outshine what other institutions work to achieve. Our students dominate in their academic curiosity, ingenuity and determination. From middle school through their senior year of high school — our students were amazing!
Q: What stood out to you about the students recognized this year?
A: From middle school through their senior year of high school — our students were amazing! Some of the awards from District 4 were:
- The Lemelson Early Inventors Award: Nicholas Jimenez-Otalora
- Regeneron Biomedical Sciences Award: Nat Bagna
- Office of Naval Research: Wylan Osgood, Dhaani Ailawadhi
- St. Augustine Alligator Farm: John Chau, Minh Winn
- St. Johns Medical Alliance: Vi Miller
- Stockholm Junior Water: Liana Yerkin
- United States Metric Association: Sahana Ganesh
- Yale Science and Engineering Association: Dhruv Battula
- Stage Zero Innovation and Persistence Award: Nicolas Jiminez-Otalora and Dhruva Gadiparthi
Junior Category Awards:
- Physics: 1st place, Piper Ross
- Earth/Plant/Animal: 3rd place, Juliet Tsai
- Chemistry/Biomedical/Microbiology: 1st place, Liam Heffernan
- Intelligent Machines, Math, Engineering: 1st place, Nicholas Jimenez-Otalora
- Behavioral: 1st place, Maahi Ailawadhi; 2nd place, Lucy Kate Bridges and Samantha Brant; 3rd place, Katherine Mai
Senior Category Awards:
- Intelligent Machines, Physics, Engineering: 1st place, Sophie Duan; 2nd place, Dhaani Ailawadhi; 3rd place, Mohammed Rayan Sirajudeen
- Behavioral/Math: 1st place, Dhruva Gadiparthi; 2nd place, Matthew Jones; 3rd place, Aarit Moolchandani; Honorable Mention, Dhruv Battula
- Biomedical/Microbiology, Animal Sciences: 1st place, John Chau and Minh Winn; 2nd place, Preston Singh, Milicevic; 3rd place, Doga Tankut/Brett Delpuech
- Cellular Molecular Science: 1st place, Anya Dorairaj; 2nd place (tie), Nat Bagnall and Vailoces Miller; 3rd place, Daniel Byron
State Science and Engineering Fair Invitees: Nicholas Jiminez Otalora, Maahi Ailawadhi, Dhaani Ailawadhi, Nat Bagnall, Sophie Duan, Dhruva Gadiparthi, Vailoces Miller, Minh Winn, and John Chau.
International Science and Engineering Fair Invitees: Sophie Duan and Anya Dorairaj.
In addition, eight of our students placed in the top 10 finalists of the U.S. District Court Essay Contest and were recognized in a special ceremony at the Bryan Simpson United States Court House in Jacksonville. Rica Gavvala from Allen D. Nease High School and Lelia Dixion, Nancy James, Daniela Jimenez, Rachel Marino, Jonathon Milicevic, Ashley Wright and Ananya Yegnamurthy from Ponte Vedra High School were honored for their exceptional submissions by the Honorable Marcia Morales Howard, Chief States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, along with other Middle District of Florida judges.
Q: Are there any other updates that you would like the community to know?
A: Our St. Johns County School District graduated 97.1% of our students during the 2024-2025 school year, placing our school district third in the state! Our mission of fostering good character and a passion for lifelong learning in all students creates educated and caring contributors to the world. This strong graduation rate certainly demonstrates commitment and hard work toward our mission. We are proud of our students, teachers, parents, staff, and administrators for achieving this outstanding educational achievement.
This excitement continues, as we expand Pre-K and VPK offerings across our school district, open our two new schools in the Nocatee and Silverleaf communities and build on the amazing comprehensive opportunities for students that we offer. From STEM, Classical English Language Arts, to Career Academies — our schools are focused on every student, every day.
Q: How can our readers contact you?
A: They can email me at kelly.barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us or call me at (904) 547-7510.
