Schools

Marietta Senior Earns Kiwanis "STAR" Designation

Shifra Erez of Marietta High School secures honor after scoring the highest SAT marks in her graduating class.

Name: Shifra Erez

Age: 17

School:

Find out what's happening in Mariettawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Accomplishment: Earning a coveted "STAR" award from the Marietta Kiwanis Club for earning the highest SAT score—2270 out of 2400—among her graduating class at Marietta High and maintaining a class ranking in the Top 10 percent.

 

Find out what's happening in Mariettawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Academics aside, Shifra has developed a well-rounded four years at Marietta, serving as a member of the school's Math Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and National Honor Society and as president of the school Recycling Club. A choral student through all four years, she is also a founding member of the Blue Devil Show Choir.

Before her junior year, Shifra participated in the prestigious Governor's Honors Program, where she majored in Spanish and minored in music.

She uses her Spanish at her job at Fontera Restaurant and admits that her conversational Spanish has become so proficient that she is sometimes asked if she is a native speaker of the language.

When she graduates from Marietta, Shifra said she plans to attend the University of Maryland, where she has earned several scholarships.

As part of the Kiwanis STAR program, students such as Erez may select a teacher who inspired them through their school career. Shifra said she chose Jerid Morisco, the school's choral director, because he has been an encouraging force for all four of her years at Marietta High. Once a reserved freshman, she said his insistence that she try out for solos helped break the social shell.

For him, Morisco said Shifra's acceptance speech at the recent Kiwanis banquet stands as one of the most satisfying moments of his teaching career. Shifra told the audience that she chose Morisco because he was a teacher who gave her permission to try and fail and actually makes mistakes.

"As a teacher, I don't care if they get it right all of the time, it matters if they have the right process," Morisco said. "You can't hit a home run unless you are willing to strike out 10 times first."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here