MVLA Honors 2 Impressive Teens as Students of the Month

The Mountain View Los Altos High School District chose two accomplished students -- Tara Chari and Ramiel Petros -- as December 2013 Students of the Month.

Senior Tara Chari is a very involved student on campus and brings an overall positive spirit to Mountain View High School. 

As a woman with many talents, she participates in activities of all kinds--sports, research and music. Tara has been a member of the MVHS Tennis Team for three years, and will be participating in her fourth year of badminton this coming season. 

In addition to her extracurriculars, Tara maintains a 4.65 GPA while taking many AP and Honors classes.          

Tara has a passion for research, especially in science, with a particular interest in synthetic biology and agriculture. She has worked in a DIY bio lab and spent her recent summer working at UCSF in a research lab. 

With this experience, she hopes to major in material science and/or engineering in college.          

Tara is involved with the HOPE Mentoring Club at Mountain View High, and mentors at the Boys and Girls Club, a national organization of local chapters which provide after-school programs for young people. 

In her free time, she enjoys playing piano and watching British comedy. She has been playing piano for almost 11 years. As for British comedy, she really looks up to Stephen Fry as a comedian and a writer. 

Most importantly, she looks up to her mom for being a woman in the STEM field -- something she hopes to do in her future.

Los Altos High School proudly presents its Student of the Month -- the outstanding Ramiel Petros -- who school staffers say is the most dedicated student the school has ever experienced and is, currently, the first junior ASB president in over 25 years. 

His loyalty and devotion to Los Altos is beyond compare. Last year, as a member of the leadership class, he dedicated more than 300 hours in service to Los Altos High -- the equivalent time it would take to drive from here to Los Angeles 50 times.

 He was the first freshman vice president and then served as the Class of 2015’s president his sophomore year.

Ramiel once shared during campaigning that on the nights before major events, he always dreams of the event. He refers to it as a mental check-list -- a way to see what still needs to be done before the event itself. 

LAHS's Ms. Dawson states, “Ramiel is the most outstanding student leader I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Bar none!” 

His "Movie Night," for example, was an idea he was determined to employ, as the numbers attending many dances are dwindling. Ramiel organized all the classes and worked with the City of Mountain View to produce an incredible first-time event that will be duplicated again in the spring.

Ramiel is committed and devoted to this school more than anyone Los Altos has seen in a very, very long time and we are incredibly proud to honor him as our Student of the Month, according to staff.