Elks choose Starr, Kiyokawa as September Students of the Month

Starr is no stranger to community service. She has done volunteer work in conjunction with the National Honor Society and the National Art Honor Society, including working on murals and mosaics in the community. She has helped at scholarship night and ushered new members at the annual NHS induction ceremony. She has gone door to door, collecting cans and funds for the Fish Food Bank. With the Leos Club, she has helped collect cans and bottles, and worked at The Hood River Valley Adult Center.

A four-year soccer player, she has been a referee at youth games and assisted as a counselor at youth camps. She has pitched in for Community Work Day to raise money for Helping Hands Against Violence, and has volunteered at the local engineering fair to get elementary students excited about STEM. Starr has also served food at the Blanchet House, a soup kitchen in Portland. She served as counselor at Earth Camp and has volunteered at local youth track meets. Starr’s love of sports and youth are obvious from her list of service activities.

Along with academics and service, Starr works at Cicci Gelato, Riverside Grill, and the OSU Experiment Station, where she served as an entomology research assistant. She is involved in school activities as well, including Student Ambassadors and Link Crew Leaders. She will apply to several colleges this fall, including Cal-Poly, and hopes to study Biomedical Engineering one day. She has one sister, Miranda Starr, who currently attends Oregon State University.

Kiyokawa is the daughter of Randy and Jeanne Kiyokawa, and has a sister, Catherine, who works on the family farm, and a brother, Cameron, who is a firefighter in Baker City.

Kiyokawa maintains a 3.85 GPA. Her involvement in the high school is extensive. She is a member of the National Honor Society, is co-president of the Asian Club, and has been a Link Crew Leader for two years. She played on the high school’s basketball team for two years, serving as JV team captain both years, and was voted Most Inspirational in 2016. She has played on the soccer team since her freshman year, was captain of the JV team her sophomore and junior years, and was voted Most Motivational in 2016. This year, she is captain of the varsity team. A member of the lacrosse team since her freshman year, she was awarded First Team All League and Second Team All State in 2017. She has put her knowledge of soccer and lacrosse to work by volunteering as a referee for the community youth soccer league and by teaching skills at the annual youth lacrosse clinic.

Kiyokawa utilized her teaching and leadership skills when she volunteered to be an Outdoor School counselor this past spring. She spent a week as a student leader, learning and practicing team building skills, child management, teaching techniques, and field study curriculum. This volunteer experience was the most meaningful to her because she learned so much and really enjoyed working with the kids.

Kiyokawa has volunteered for the Hood River County Christmas Project, organizing and distributing gifts to families in our area. She has also worked as a server and busser at the Parkdale Grange’s Easter lunch and grange breakfast. Since 2017, she has volunteered as a dog walker for the Adopt A Dog program.

When not involved in school leadership activities, athletics and her volunteer work, she works at Kiyokawa Family Orchards as a field worker and fruit stand employee. She has also worked at Solstice restaurant and as a paid referee for Youth Lacrosse games in Hood River.

Although she has not chosen a university or a major yet, Kiyokawa hopes to attend a school somewhere on the west coast and focus on math and sciences.