Talk of the Neighborhood highlights Central Texans’ achievements.

* Class Acts *

* Jessica Woodward, a sophomore at McLennan Community College, has been selected by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to serve on the Undergraduate Education Advisory Committee.

Woodward, a mother of three and a full-time student, is the sole student member of the committee. She will serve a one-year term beginning in June.

* Randy Steed, a 2007 graduate of Robinson High School, was named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at Texas A&M University with a 4.0 grade-point average.

The mechanical engineering major is the son of Rusty and Nancy Steed of Robinson and the grandson of Del and Erline Steed of Waco.

* Vanguard College Preparatory School swept the competition in the district academic and art meet. In the academic competitions, Vanguard won with 180 points. Austin Concordia Academy tallied 139 points for second place. Reicher Catholic High School was third with 129.

Vanguard students will travel to Austin to compete at the state level in April. Placing at district, by event, were:

Ready writing — Jane Millar, 2nd.

Science — Chip Jones, 3rd; Mariana Concepcion, 4th.

Prose interpretation — Erin Frisch, 4th.

Persuasive speaking — Dylan Losey, 1st; Moshe Dolejsi, 2nd; Robert Braswell, 3rd.

Yearbook — Bifrost: Face, 1st.

Newspaper — The Vanguard Review, 1st.

Spelling — Katie Samples, 2nd.

Current events and issues — Moshe Dolejsi, 1st; Ewan Hamilton-Short, 5th.

Number sense — Jed Cole, 3rd.

Calculator — Warren Chapline, 6th.

Advanced math — Jed Cole, 1st; Travis Probe, 4th.

Literary criticism — Charlotte Manton, 3rd.

Social studies — Dylan Losey, 1st; Sarah Ali, 3rd; Michael VanHoose, 5th.

Spanish — Mariana Concepcion, 1st; Rodrigo Concepcion, 4th; Stephanie Marten-Ellis, 6th.

Poetry interpretation — Erin Frisch, 4th; Rachel Spross, 5th.

Original oratory — Colton Treadwell, 5th; Ewan Hamilton-Short, 6th.

Mathematics — Stephanie Marten-Ellis, 1st.

Computer science — Robert Braswell, 1st; Alez Krzywonski, 3rd.

* In the Military *

* Garry Charles “G.C.” Harris of Waco recently graduated from Army basic training at Fort Knox in Kentucky.

He ranked third in physical training in a class of 250. He has been assigned to advanced training at Fort Lee in Virginia.

He is the son of Shirley Harris of Waco and the late Mike Harris. His grandparents are Garry and Linda Harris of China Spring, and Charles and Estelle Shelton of Woodway.

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