Whiz Kid: Kamryn Suprenant

 Name:  Kamryn Surprenant

Age:   10

School:  J. Milton Jeffrey Elementary School  (2010-2011)

Accomplishments: Kamryn Suprenant will go to Brown School this fall leaving behind a legacy at J. Milton Jeffrey Elementary School of going above and beyond for school wide fundraising activities.  Being named Madison Rotary Club Student of the Year Award for Jeffrey is the result of this very active participation.

When she took on the task of raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through the Math-a-Thon she didn’t just get sponsors, she went the extra mile.

“I felt bad taking money from people just for doing math,” said Kamryn. “So I went to Bauer Farm, because there was a Harvest Festival, and I made a booth and my dad made birdhouses and we sold them and I ended up getting $95.00 to donate to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.”

All students who receive the Student of the Year Award meet the Rotary's 4-Way Test.  This test, which promotes high ethical standards, asks "Of the things we think, say or do: Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?  Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"

Writing an essay on “What You Do Respectfully,”   Kamryn wrote about her donation to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.   She was unaware that the essay was for the Rotary award, but when she won it she said, “I felt like I had just achieved a really big goal of mine!”

Key to Awesomeness:    

Kamryn looks at each of her charitable projects as a puzzle piece. “I try to do one puzzle piece at a time,” said Kamryn. “It’s just great to help someone in need.”

“As a Student Council representative this year she has not only been dedicated to her responsibilities, but has passionately embraced the community service projects that we have undertaken as a school,” said Jeffrey Assistant Principal Rachel Weiss.

“Whether it was collecting warm clothing to donate to the Katherine Brennan School in New Haven, raising money for the ClearWater Initiative to bring clean water to villages in Uganda, or organizing a school Spirit Day to benefit the victims of the tsunami in Japan, it was Kamryn who stepped forward as a quiet, creative leader,” added Weiss.

Kamryn has approached every fundraising event at Jeffrey School with the same attitude.  “I try to do a lot of charities that my school does,” she said.

When Jeffrey School decided to raise funds for the Clearwater Initiative in Uganda she made magnets and sold them at the school’s annual luau.

As a student council representative, Kamryn had a chance to personally deliver hats, gloves and books, collected by the student body, for New Haven’s Katherine Brennan School.  Kamryn was thrilled to see, firsthand, the joy and happiness that the school’s gifts elicited from the students.

This made a big impression on Kamryn since most of people she raises money for she will never meet.

“I got to meet them and they all said ‘Thank you’ and it was really nice to see joy! “