Student of Month

As a Senior Leader in Wildcat Country, Jose Chavez Guiterrez knows the formula for high school success. “I try to come to school every day, do my best work, go home and study in order to make the best grades I can,” Chavez says. His approach to school has allowed him to establish himself as a solid student with a bright future, clean discipline record and exemplary attendance record. However, it was his example of leadership noticed by Math Teacher Brad Blake that earned him a nomination and selection for Paisano’s Wildcat Student of the Month.
Chavez, a returning Senior member of The Wildcat Soccer Team ranked in the top 25 percent of The Class of 2015, met a student new to West Ashley in class. In a school of 1,700 students, connecting with people that share similar interests is important and the young men found quickly they shared a common interest – soccer! “He was new to our school and I invited him to come play soccer with us at ISOL, an indoor soccer facility in North Charleston,” Chavez recounts. According to his teacher, this network connection made a huge impact on the new Wildcat and has helped his new student transition into a new school and class schedule with the comfort of friendship. For Jose Chavez, a quiet young man, this just seemed like the right thing to do. After all, the soccer team can always use more good players to join Chavez this Spring as he returns for his Senior campaign as a midfielder having scored 4 goals a year ago.
Jose has great plans beyond the pitch though. “I’ve studied Culinary Arts here at West Ashley and one day hope to start my own restaurant,” Chavez reports. This may be after completing his education at Trident Technical College, The Arts Institute of Charleston or Johnson & Wales University. Graduation will come soon enough for Jose, but his success will continue for years to come. “I always tell younger students to study hard, do your best work and never give up,” Jose says. This is fantastic advice from a great young leader, but his actions speak volumes beyond his words. Jose Chavez is a Senior example of Wildcat Leadership!