Star Students From Bergen County Are 'Buddied' With CTC Academy Kids In Fair Lawn

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Star Students are found in classrooms, on concert and theater stages and at debate lecterns, and out in the community doing good things to make life better for all of us.

Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize Star Students, and we’re working to tell the stories of these outstanding kids to their neighbors.

This submission comes from Laura Reynolds who nominated students in the Midland Park Public Schools who participated in the CTC Academy-Fair Lawn Buddy Program.

CTC Academy is a non-profit for children and young adults with special needs.

CTC students were each paired with a sixth grade "buddy" in Midland Park this year.

Star local students' name

• Ella Pestano
• William Birney
• Yasmin Lichtenstein
• London Hedley-Noble
• Gabriella Gesualdo
• Anderson Iraheta-Palacios
• Jack Hagan
• Luke Goodell
• Max Kalata
• Robert J Drexler
• Madeleine Libretta
• Mason Rawlins

What grade are your star local students in?

6th

How do you know the star local students?

They are part of the CTC Academy-Fair Lawn Buddy Program

Why do you believe the star local students should be recognized?

They were the students selected from the Midland Park Public Schools who visited CTC Academy-Fair Lawn for a Buddy program this school year. These 6th graders were paired with CTC students to work on fun projects and build friendships. To be selected, they wrote an essay on inclusion and were chosen based on the essay, grades, and overall good standing. After several successful visits, the students in the program created a vlog of their experience. The video was so inspiring that CTC Academy made it into their annual gala fundraising video. CTC Academy is so proud of these young people and the kindness they have shown our students and we wanted to let our community know what stars they are!

What's one thing you want everyone to know about the star local students?

That their participation in this program has made a difference in the life of another child.

Congratulations on your achievements, and all of our best wishes to you in the future!

This content is brought to our community in partnership with T-Mobile.

Know an outstanding student who deserves a shout-out?

Nominate them here.