The acronym STAR stands for Student Teacher Achievement Recognition. According to PAGE — Professional Association of Georgia Educators — Foundation, the STAR program is a program which seeks to honor Georgia’s highest achieving high school seniors and the teachers deemed most instrumental in these students’ academic careers. To obtain a STAR nomination, a high school senior must have the highest SAT score within any single sitting and must be in the top ten percent of their senior class in regards to the student’s grade point average. STAR students, upon nomination, are asked to name a STAR Teacher of their choosing. This year, senior Canah Dawson was awarded the title of STAR Student with her SAT score of 1460, and Mrs. Lisa Stanton was awarded the title STAR Teacher at the request of Canah Dawson. The two — Canah and Mrs. Stanton — recently attended a banquet for Walton County’s STAR Sstudents and teachers. The banquet, sponsored by PAGE at the Monroe Country Club, was attended by county administrators and staff, the superintendent, event sponsors, and all other STAR students, STAR teachers, and high school principals within Walton County. Canah Dawson, upon inquiry, stated that she chose Mrs.Stanton as STAR Teacher because she “grew the most as a person and a student” under her teaching. Mrs. Stanton — a first-time STAR Teacher — said she felt “blessed and shocked” to receive such a title. She “never ever ever ever expected to be STAR Teacher.” When asked what the banquet experience was like, STAR Student Canah responded that it was “interesting to hear about how all the students have learned from their teachers and how their students have taught them things.” STAR Teacher Mrs. Stanton responded that the experience was “very scary because [she] had no idea what to expect.” She stated, “I wrote a speech [for the banquet], and I sent it to Mr. Wisdom and Ms. Sargent asking if it was okay, but I had found out I wrote entirely too much.…” Mrs. Stanton said that overall she experienced “some bit of intimidation,” but she still felt there was “some sort of family atmosphere to it, and [she] enjoyed it.” Canah noted the main emotion she felt regarding her time as STAR Student was pride. Canah couldn’t give much advice on taking the SAT, stating she “doesn't know much about how to prepare,” but she did note that her preparation for the SAT included practicing with a few questions from Khan Academy. Together, Canah Dawson and Mrs. Lisa Stanton make up Loganville High School’s 2018-19 STAR Student and Teacher duo.