Saturday, October 12, 2024

Azle Optimist Club showcases September students

Carlson, Maines recognized by Optimists for academics and extracurriculars

Posted

AZLE — At a Sept. 20 meeting, the Optimist Club of Azle recognized two Azle High School seniors, Dylan Maines and Klaire Carlson, as its Young Texan and Young Texanne for the month of September.

Klaire Carlson:

Klaire Carlson is the daughter of Mary and Michael Carlson. She is ranked 12th in her class with a grade point average of 102.83. After high school, Carlson is interested in pursuing a career in nursing or architecture. She is proud of her good grades and consistent attendance record.

“I am proud of all these things because I have been working hard all year,” Carlson said. “Over the past years, especially junior year, times have gotten hard and stressed with school and in those moments, I kept my head up and kept pushing through. I know I may not be the smartest person in the world, but I have been working hard because I want to have a bright future, and I want good grades in order to help pay for college.”

Carlson said her success is the result of the high standards she places on herself. She is grateful that her parents have taught her to be accountable and a hard worker. She admits that one of her weaknesses is her aversion to change which she is working to overcome. Carlson describes herself as driven, reliable and respectful. One unique thing about the AHS student is that she’s a triplet. She is involved in the National Honor Society, Rowdies, is part of the leadership council with Azle bi-district champ softball team, was voted best teammate and received most-offensive award in junior varsity basketball.

Carlson enjoys reading, crocheting, painting, baking, hiking, softball, listening to music and arts and crafts. She works as a babysitter and is a regular volunteer at community events.

Dylan maines:

Dylan Maines is the son of Bo Maines and Leah Maines. He is ranked ninth in his class with a GPA of 103.1. He does not yet know which colleges or career fields he’d like to pursue. Maines is proud of maintaining a spot on the honor roll and staying in the academic top 10 throughout high school. He considers math and chemistry to be his best academic strengths. He considers his work ethic to be the biggest contributor to his success. Maines considers impatience to be one of his weaknesses.

“I work to overcome this by reminding myself that patience is an important part of life,” Maines said.

He considers himself to be a committed hard worker, always giving any task his best effort and seeing things through to completion. He also said that he is honest.

Maines said chemistry is one of his strongest subjects. His hobbies include playing the guitar, playing bass in his church’s band, spending time with family camping, and fishing.

He has worked at Reeves Azle Hardware as a store associate since November 2023. He has volunteered with house repairs and yard work for Servolution Network for four years.

Maines is highly involved in sports including powerlifting, track and field, wrestling and football where he is team captain and on the leadership council. He is involved in NHS, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Peer Assistance and Leadership.