Oxford Area High School students Rosi Gonzalez and Sierra Wagner were honored as Oxford Rotary Club Seniors of the Month for February.

Rosi, daughter of Paula and Juan Gonzalez, is a member of the newly established chapter of Interact, Rotary International’s service organization for high-school students, which is sponsored by the Oxford Rotary Club. She is also a member of the LEOs Club sponsored by the Oxford Lions Club, the Helping Hands Community Service Club and the Student Diversity Council, and is a peer tutor for E.S.L. students. 

Rosi spoke to the Rotary Club members about how having a job during her high-school years has helped her develop communication, organization and time management skills that will help her to succeed in college and her chosen career. As a graduation project, she began working during her sophomore year at Oxford Family Eye Care, where she is currently a receptionist and also responsible for interpreting for Spanish-speaking patients, contact lens training and pre- and post-testing.

Rosi said that working in a health care environment has inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. She will be the first member of her family to attend college, and her choices include Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Franklin & Marshall College.

Sierra, daughter of Michelle and Troy Wagner, is in her second year as vice president of the Class of 2014 and is a member of Student Council as well as historian of the Student Diversity Council. She is involved in the musical production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" as an usher, hairstylist and makeup artist.

Sierra told the Rotary members of her experiences as a volunteer at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, where her mother is employed. Since her sophomore year, Sierra has helped organize a prom for the hospital’s cancer patients, which is held each spring during prom season.

Prior to each prom, Sierra solicits donations of dresses, shoes, and jackets from students and staff at the high school for the patients to wear to the prom. She and the other volunteers also decorate the room based on a theme. Friends and family members, many of whom live at Ronald McDonald House while the patients are being treated, are invited to attend, with the highlight being a limousine ride from the current A.I. duPont facility to the original hospital building, where the event is held each year.

Sierra said helping to organize the prom has particular meaning to her after she was unable to attend school for an extended period following a car accident, missing out on many social events as well. Part of her recovery involved treatment with a neuropsychologist, which inspired her to pursue a similar career. This fall, Sierra will attend California University of Pennsylvania to study for a career as a pediatric psychologist.