Reliant Student Winner

Terrace Elementary School fifth-grader Lauren Kmiecik was one of 19 lucky student winners who heard pop singers Demi Lovato and Austin Mahone from a plush corporate suite Sunday during their Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo concert.

Lauren was among 2,500 students nominated to win suite tickets for themselves and for up to three family members or friends in the Reliant Student Recognition Program. The fifth-grader was nominated by teacher Sarah Morphey.

Only 19 elementary and secondary students won tickets based on a random drawing.

Reliant, a NRG company, sponsors the Rodeo-related competition to recognize students in kindergarten through 8th grade for academic excellence, continued academic improvement and outstanding citizenship.

Random or not, Lauren was teacher Sarah Morphey’s pick as one extraordinary young woman. She wrote the following about Lauren in her nomination:

“She embodies the best of our Spring Branch students in the areas of achievement, personal drive and citizenship. Her involvement at Terrace is far reaching, and she demonstrates it by tutoring kindergarten students, reading with second-grade students to build fluency, as well as peer tutoring,”
Morphey said.

“She has been a safety patrol on campus, performs in our Terrace ensembles, had a starring role in our holiday musical, served on the Terrace Service Club, has competed with our campus team in Odyssey of the Mind, and participated and inspired her classmates during our campus Girls on the Run program. That resume alone is all very impressive, yet her humbleness and kindness for others never wanes. Of course, it is important to point out that she is an amazing student who has earned straight A’s throughout elementary school. She is in constant search for new knowledge, and is an avid lover of American history. It is her goal to become a veterinarian after graduating from high school.”

Performing at the Sunday Rodeo were the singer-songwriter, musician, actress and anti-bullying spokesperson Demi Lovato and teen heartthrob Austin Mahone, whose viral videos included the popular song, “Say Something.”

Reliant student winners also took home a certificate of recognition and special t-shirts to mark a very special evening.