The Emmaus Woman’s Club recently announced its annual Girl of the Month awards.

Honorees are selected from outstanding Emmaus High School seniors and recognitions are given for the eight months from September 2019 through April. Accomplishments are recognized in art, business/computer applications, drama, family/consumer science, journalism, music, mathematics and science.

The Woman’s Club of Emmaus has celebrated the the Girl of the Month since 1953.

The 2019-2020 academic year awardees include:

Alena Slak, of Lower Macungie Township, was selected by the EHS music department for September 2019.

Slak is president of EHS Chorale, EHS Select Choir and AccaBella, the girls a cappella group. She also is president of the EHS Theatre Department and participates in the fall plays and spring musicals. She was among students selected by the Pennsylvania Music Educators for the District 10 Chorus where she earned second in 2018 and fourth in 2019 and the Region V Chorus where she earned third in 2018 and first in 2019. She earned first in the All-State Choruses in 2019. She was selected to participate in the All-National Ensembles Mixed Choir, which includes 550 students from 49 states.

She is a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, a high school honor society sponsored by the National Association for Music Education.

She plans to attend a university where she can double major in vocal performance and neuroscience.

Kathleen Taranto, of Macungie, was selected by the EHS journalism department for October 2019.

Taranto is involved with The Stinger, the high school newspaper. She joined The Stinger newspaper staff in 2017 and is currently the managing editor. Her writing ability has been recognized by the Pennsylvania School Press Association. In 2018, she earned an honorable mention in the general news story category, a second place award in the 2019 Copywriting Write-off Competition and a first place award in the feature story category. She also received the 2019 EHS Excellence in Journalism Award and the 2019 Principal’s Award for Academic Excellence.

She plans to attend a four-year college to study journalism and mass communications.

Caroline Oetting, of Zionsville, was selected by the EHS art department for November 2019.

Oetting has earned an honorable mention in the East Central Pennsylvania Scholastic Art Competition and has earned the Emmaus “Fantastic Artist” ribbon multiple times. She is currently involved in a crafts class and an advancement placement studio art course.

She also participated in the EHS art department’s trip to Italy and Greece.

She plans to major in art education with a goal of earning a doctorate to enable her to become a college art professor.

Brooke Seislove, of Macungie, was selected by the EHS family/consumer science department for December 2019.

Seislove, during the past four years, has taken child development courses in the family and consumer science department. She especially enjoyed the courses in which she could work with preschool children.

She is also involved in the EHS music department, where she plays the piano, flute and piccolo. She is a member of the marching band, the symphonic band, EHS Chorale and EHS Select Choir. She is a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, a high school honor society sponsored by the National Association for Music Education. She earned a bronze medal in the National Spanish Examination taken by over 140,000 students.

She will attend Elizabethtown College to study special education or pre-med.

Hannah Westbay, of Wescosville, was selected by the EHS business/computer applications department for January.

Westbay has received awards for best defensive player and most valuable player in basketball and volleyball.

She has been involved in the EHS Students Against Drunk Driving program and served as secretary of the concert choir. She is currently the vice president, secretary and treasurer of the EHS Young Republicans Club.

She anticipates a career in the business world. Her preparation includes earning an associate degree in business management at Lehigh Carbon Community College and eventually earning an MBA from DeSales University. Her future plans include starting her own family business.

Tea van Linde, of Emmaus, was selected by the EHS drama department for February.

Van Linde is currently the treasurer of the theatre department, vice president of the Select Choir, treasurer of AccaBella, the female a cappella group and treasurer of National Honor Society.

She is a member of the International Thespian Society, an honor society for high school theater students.

A member of the casts and crews of EHS musicals and plays 2016 to 2019, she was a member of the EHS Chorale when the group toured Italy in 2019.

She plans to spend the first semester of her college career in Fiji, New Zealand and Australia as part of the Verto Education Program.

Shreya Sriramineni, of Macungie, was selected by the EHS Science Department for March.

Sriramineni is an Advance Placement Scholar.

She participated in the Technology Student Association Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science Competition and was a member of the first place team in 2018 and qualified for the national championship in 2019.

She participates in the varsity debate team, is a member of the EHS Orchestra and is learning about Mongolian throat singing as a way to learn about different cultures.

She looks forward to a future that includes the practice of medicine.

Stephanie Sipics, of Macungie, was selected by the EHS mathematics department for April.

Sipics is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist and an Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction.

In her junior year, she earned first place in the behavior and social sciences category of the Lehigh Valley Science and Engineering Fair. She is a member of National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honor Society. She is a violinist with the EHS Orchestra and Sinfonia and also plays the piano.

She is secretary of the math club, a member of the PA Math League and of the Science Fair Club.

She received a scholarship for her success in the Girls Go CyberStart which provides students with an opportunity to explore their interests in cyber studies and learn cyber security skills.

Her plans include studying biomedical engineering and eventually earning an advanced degree in the field.