BFHS seniors Owens, Rae earn NISTAR award

A pair of Bonners Ferry High School students have been recognized for their achievements and nominated for the North Idaho Student Teacher Achievement Recognition program.

The 2020 Boundary County NISTAR award recipients are seniors Bailey Owens and Victoria Rae. Teachers vote on two of the top scholars who have exhibited academic and extracurricular excellence, and these students in turn elect to recognize two teachers who have inspired them

Both Owens and Rae are finishing in the top 10 in their class and have shown outstanding dedication to their studies, guidance counselor Emily Winebark said in an email to the Bonners Ferry Herald.

Owens has been involved in Distinguished Young Women and Mr. BFHS, receiving the Scholastics Award for DYW. She also received NIC’s Top Ten Scholars Award. Owens has shown an exceptional ability to succeed in advanced classes throughout her high school career, including honors, Advance Placement, and dual credit classes.

Owens nominated Russell Thorman as a teacher who has influenced her most.

“He has taught me to like math, then hate math, and finally to feel OK about math,” Owens said. “He was the reason I pushed myself to take AP Calculus. Even though we can’t physically be at school right now, he still makes his best efforts to ensure that all of his students are understanding the material and learning something every day.”

Rae also wanted to expressed her appreciation for Thorman, saying he has pushed her to “be the best student I can be and is definitely one of the most caring teachers I’ve met. He has this special way of connecting with students and cultivates them to be productive members of society. He cares about his students outside of the classroom environment and constantly goes above and beyond.”

Rae also excelled academically and in her athletic endeavors as well as an active member of the BFHS volleyball and track programs. As a sophomore Rae earned the Gladys Richardson Underclassman Athlete of the Year Award for her outstanding athletic performance during the track season. In addition, as a junior, Rae earned a spot on the Intermountain League’s All-League volleyball team and was named a finalist for the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame. As a senior, Rae again earned a sport of the IML All-League volleyball team and was again named as a finalist for the Hall of Fame for track.

Rae nominated Ed DePriest as a teacher who has influenced her most. Not only did she have the honor of having him as a teacher, she also had him as a coach for four years.

“He may be old school, but he is the type of teacher who will not tolerate any nonsense in his classroom and will hold kids accountable for their actions,” Rae said. “He is one of the biggest influences of my life in and out of school … I consider him family and I know I can go to him whenever needed.”

Rae describes DePriest as a “very caring and smart individual, with wisdom to give. He will always be my favorite coach and one of my favorite teachers.”

Congratulations to these two hard-working graduating seniors and thank you to Mr. Thorman and Mr. DePriest for taking the time to go above and beyond every day to influence your students, Winebark said.