The Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce Student of the Month program, recognizing and inspiring academic excellence since the 1992-1993 school year, held its first awards breakfast of the 2025-2026 school year on Sept. 11 at the Murrieta Sizzler restaurant, 40489 Murrieta Hot Springs Rd.
Sally Myers, founder of the nonprofit program that partners with the Chamber, welcomed everyone and shared the mission of the local high school recognition program, which sets the criteria for the students who are chosen.
Supported by the community, college or vocational/trade school-bound seniors are acknowledged and honored for their character, their love of learning, and their willingness to participate in numerous activities such as campus events, athletics, and community service, or the ability to persevere and overcome difficult life circumstances. They accomplish all this in a setting that honors God, country, community, family, and free enterprise.
Backpacks filled with gifts, certificates of recognition and much more were donated by the program’s sponsors to the award recipients. Each student was invited to the podium to share their personal story, past challenges and future goals with a room full of supporters that included principals, teachers, peers, and family members, as well as community and school district dignitaries.
September’s students of the month are Chaparral High School’s Erik Skallerud, Great Oak’s Rameen Vahdat, Linfield Christian’s Maya Rivera, Rancho Christian’s Francesca Cabangcala, Temecula Preparatory School’s Ines Yanez, and Temecula Valley’s Rayaan Kiramba.
Erik Skallerud
Chaparral High School Principal Tina Miller said the school was celebrating Patriots’ Day and recognizing the 24th anniversary of 9/11 that day. “These events remind us of the commitment and sacrifice of our first responders and our military men and women,” Miller said. “I’m honored to be next to two of them, a possible future serviceman (Erik) and a veteran (First Sergeant Leo Ruiz, JrROTC instructor).” Erik serves as cadet commanding officer of 140 people in his unit and wants to become an officer in the Navy after completing his college degree. “I’ve always aspired for greatness, but simply wanting a dream is never enough to achieve it,” Erik said. “Every dream needs long nights and early mornings, hard work, determination, and a strong belief in yourself. But often the most critical and most forgotten thing is it needs to be beyond yourself and for other people.” Erik shared that he has been plagued by medical problems that have kept him sick half of every year since he was born, but despite this and other struggles, he discovered that the meaning of all his goals came from serving others. “To be a leader was to serve everyone and be by their side like I wish someone had been there for me when I was at my weakest, lowest, and most lost,” he said.
Rameen Vahdat
Great Oak High School Principal Amber Lee said Rameen loves science and math because they challenge him with new ideas and discoveries and it’s never the same thing twice. “His advice for all of us is to live with no regrets because whatever happens will be fine,” she said. Rameen thanked his parents for being such great models and his AP Physics teacher and mentor, Tammy Draughon, who has continued to foster his sense of intellectual curiosity and his drive for learning. He aspires to be a biomedical engineer with hopes of attending UC, Berkeley or Johns Hopkins University. “If I had to take away one life lesson from my journey so far, it would be to live life to the fullest and make the most of every moment,” Rameen said. “I take a lot of pride in my diverse involvement at Great Oak, both inside and outside the classroom, always remaining optimistic even in times of struggle and frustration.” Rameen shared that he was born with a condition where one ear canal is significantly narrowed, so he has spent his entire life being half deaf. He carries a 4.7 GPA, has multiple leading roles on campus, and competes in athletics.
Maya Rivera
Linfield Christian High School chose to honor Maya as its first Student of the Month for the new school year. Assistant Principal Dani Hawes said that through her involvement with ASB and cheerleading as a co-captain, Maya shines a light wherever she goes. Outside of school, she is a nationally titled dancer. Maya plans to attend Pepperdine University to major in communications and minor in business. “I believe my greatest contribution to my school is my drive to serve,” she said. “I have two core values I try to live out every single day—service and leadership. I strongly believe those both go hand in hand because true leadership is rooted in serving others, and when I think of that, I think of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Maya shared a favorite well-known Christian proverb: “Choose to reflect the Lord’s love because sometimes you’re the only bible people read.” She said she knows this to be true because it is a privilege to know about the Lord and it is a privilege to go to a Christian school. “I believe the Lord has called on me to be that light to others,” Maya said.
Francesca Cabangcala
Rancho Christian High School Principal Doris Jackson has known Francesca since she was her math teacher in seventh grade. “I’ve had the privilege of watching her grow up,” Jackson said. “She elevates every class she is in.” Francesca said her mother, grandmother, teachers, and other strong women have served as the best possible role models a young woman could have in her life. “I came to realize that learning is not just about getting the right answers, it’s about the process and the growth and the curiosity that comes from trying and failing and trying again,” Francesca said. “A lesson I’ll be taking with me to college is that education is an abundant lifelong gift and that everything I make an effort to learn will stay with me the rest of my life.” Hannah Thomas taught Francesca in AP History last year and AP Government this year and said, “She’s the sort of student that will stand out because she will come into my classroom and ask me how I’m doing and really be intentional, thoughtful and sincere. She is full of grace and kindness. She contributes to our community with her grace and calm demeanor.”
Ines Yanez
Temecula Preparatory Upper School Dean Garrett Corduan introduced Ines as a “heritage” student who has attended the school since kindergarten. She has been named a Virtue All-Star twice and is on track to be Temecula Prep’s valedictorian. Outside of school, she has been an active member of 4H since age seven and now serves as president of her club. She was recently honored as 4H Member of the Year and a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, placing her in the top 1% of high school students in the United States. “An important lesson I hope to take with me into the future is that sometimes the chances, the opportunities, and the events that we feel unqualified for or that we doubt we can accomplish can become some of the most important and impactful pieces of our lives,” Ines said. She cited some examples from her own life that caused her to hesitate, but after getting involved, she learned from the experiences and excelled. “The greatest barriers are roadblocks that we set up for ourselves,” Ines said. Eric Rasmussen has taught her chemistry, environmental science, and now physics. He said Ines is a well-rounded student, participating in varsity sports, National Honor Society, and working part-time.
Rayaan Kiramba
Temecula Valley High School Principal Donna Lione explained that Rayaan is better known as Ray Ray on campus and that is mostly because he brings a ray of sunshine to everyone he meets. He aspires to be an architectural engineer. Rayaan praised his mother, who immigrated from Uganda and worked hard to provide for him and his brother, attending college while they were growing up. “I try to do my best to follow her example; she has set an amazing example for me to follow,” he said. He has been in AVID and a member of the football team all four years. He said both have taught him valuable lessons such as time management, discipline, and consistency. “I just go every day and give it my all,” Rayaan said. He said it’s important to treat everyone with the same respect, regardless of who they are or where they come from. He practices this in his job at Vons, which he got at the age of 16. Assistant Head Coach Joel Nichols said the best and only word he could think of to describe Rayaan is sunshine. “He is one of the best humans I’ve ever come across in my life. I know in my heart that whatever he chooses to do, he will be awesome at it.”
For more information, please contact Program Chair Liz Schuch at 951-676-5090 or liz@temecula.org.
