The Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce Student of the Month program, recognizing and inspiring academic excellence since the 1992-1993 school year, held its final awards breakfast of the 2025-2026 school year on April 16 at the Murrieta Sizzler restaurant, 40489 Murrieta Hot Springs Rd.
Sally Myers of BMW Management/Sizzler restaurants, who founded the nonprofit program that partners with the Chamber, emceed the event. She 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.
April’s students of the month are Chaparral High School’s Menil Guzman, Great Oak’s Benjamin Noworolski, Linfield Christian’s Mia Delacruz, Rancho Vista’s Max Chase, Susan H. Nelson High School’s Lucie Hoang, and Temecula Valley’s Rya Melanson.
Menil Guzman
Chaparral High School Assistant Principal Ingrid Taylor introduced Menil as an exceptional student with a 4.6 GPA and part of the AP Capstone Diploma program. On campus, he’s been involved in Cyber Patriots, Science Olympiad, the engineering club, and completed the CTE computer science pathway. “For all of my life, I have lived with my older neurodivergent sister,” Menil said. “And though I am unapologetically proud of how much progress she has made, I as her brother, have always felt like I could be doing more to help her or help her in some way experience life to a greater degree.” He said there are so many people out there who don’t get the opportunities that they deserve because of how cruel and unfair life is to them. He plans to attend UC Irvine to major in biomedical engineering.
Benjamin Noworolski
Great Oak High School Principal Amber Lane introduced Benjamin as a student who has a deep love of learning. “His passion and humility remind all of us on campus that success comes from our curiosity, our dedication, and a genuine love of understanding the world,” she said. One of the biggest lessons Benjamin said he’s learned is the value of putting in the hard work. “Nothing in life ever comes easy and life will not do any of the heavy lifting,” he said. He cited the work he put in as a member of the Mu Alpha Theta honor society to be successful at math competitions. Benjamin earned third place in the calculus division at a recent meet. He will be attending UC Berkeley to earn his degree in physics.
Mia Delacruz
Linfield Christian High School Assistant Principal Dani Hawes said she thinks it is really remarkable when young people, such as Mia, are so accomplished and also kind and inclusive. She is a member of the debate team, currently serving as the research coordinator. She is also Mu Alpha Theta treasurer, ASB treasurer, National Honor Society president and plays on the varsity volleyball team. “I was born with a hole in my heart, and this took away a lot of opportunities for me to be active as a child,” Mia said. “This also sparked my interest in wanting to pursue a career in the medical field because I had surgery and this surgery allowed me to be so much more active.” She will be pursuing a degree in human biology and society at UCLA in the fall.
Max Chase
Rancho Vista High School Assistant Principal Stephanie Webb described Max as artistic and creative and said she enjoys drawing, reading, and listening to a wide range of music genres. “Her creativity is matched by her intelligence and her thoughtful nature,” Webb said. An obstacle Max had to overcome was moving around a lot when she was younger. “Whether that meant schools, houses, or even cities, I was forced to start from scratch in communities that were brand new to me,” she said. Being a shy child, this proved challenging to her. Through these experiences, Max learned to be resilient and have courage and confidence in herself even when faced with situations she finds intimidating. She plans to attend Mt. San Jacinto College before transferring to UCR to eventually pursue a career in forensic psychology.
Lucie Hoang
Susan H. Nelson High School Assistant Principal Stephanie Webb said Lucie’s decision to transfer to the school from Great Oak reflects one of her greatest strengths: being adaptable. Lucie said the biggest life lesson she has learned and will take with her to college is to always be considerate of others. “I’ve had the honor to become a certified nursing assistant this year, and I’ve spent around 100 hours at a nursing home,” said Lucie, who is an early high school graduate. She plans to continue working while attending California State University, Long Beach, to study nutrition. Her ultimate goal is to become a physician. “I chose this major carefully as a stepping stone to pursue my goal of medicine,” she said. “Nutrition is one of the main components that determines natural health before disease and sickness occur.”
Rya Melanson
Temecula Valley High School Principal Donna Lione shared that Rya is artistic, full of life, enthusiastic, supportive, and, more importantly, an extremely kind person. Rya is co-captain of the improv team, co-senior director, and co-president of the drama club. She also got the school’s mascot team up and running. “One of the hardest obstacles I have had to overcome would have to be the passing of my aunt Bristol Sorenson,” Rya said, adding that this day was the fifth anniversary of her passing. “She was a brilliant star, a PhD scientist. Overall, she was incredible. I plan to honor her by continuing her legacy of helping people and finding answers for those who need it.” Rya will attend La Sierra University to study criminal justice, specifically crime scene investigations.
For more information, please contact Program Chair Liz Schuch at 951-676-5090 or liz@temecula.org.
