MPISD – News

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPHS Seniors named Heisman High School winners

The 2020 Heisman High School Scholarship program chose Mount Pleasant High School seniors Isabella Greco and Ryan Sharp, the school winners. The Heisman High School Scholarship continues a 26-year tradition of honoring high school seniors who accomplish tremendous feats in the classroom, on the field, and most importantly, within their communities. The scholarship recognizes and rewards both male and female high school athletes who are community-minded and driven to use their exceptional talents for the benefit of all.  

Greco, the daughter of Dr. Anthony and Ana Greco, is a four-year member of the Varsity Swim Team and has served as girls’ captain during her junior and senior years. They awarded her Academic All-State Swimmer and a Regional Finalist for 9th-11th grades. She has been a member of the TISCA All-Region team for three years.

In addition to her outstanding performance on the swim team, she has been a member of the Varsity Debate team for four years, serving as secretary as a junior and co-captain as a senior. They recognized her as an Academic All-American Debater, a national qualifier in World Schools Debate, and a regional qualifier in Congressional Debate. Isabella is secretary of the National Honor Society and Reporter of FBLA. While competing in FBLA events, she was Area Champion, State Bronze Medalist, and a National Qualifier in Broadcast Journalism. She is also a member of the MPHS Student Council, the Varsity Girls Golf team, UIL Current Events team, and Interact.

Isabella has volunteered in various capacities to serve her community. She has coached younger students in the MPCC SPLASH Summer Swim team, organized canned food drives, participated in Adopt a Highway, and helped with Titus County Cares.

Sharp, the son of Robin and Janet Sharp, is a member of the MPHS Varsity Swim team. He placed in the district and regional meets for both the butterfly and the backstroke for the last three years.

He is a member of the MPHS Speech and Debate team, National Honor Society, FBLA, and Student Council. He participated in UIL Current Event competitions and was a member of the 2nd place district team. In the Broadcast Journalism competition for FBLA, he placed 1st in district and 3rd in state, qualifying for FBLA Nationals. They also recognized him as a Scholastic All American and an AP Scholar.

As a member of the Varsity Speech and Debate team, Ryan has won numerous awards. He has placed in the district in both Speech and Debate and qualified for Nationals. He was selected to compete in World Schools Debate at Nationals, was a National Individual Events Tournament of Champions Qualifier, and a Texas Forensics Association State qualifier.

Sharp spends time volunteering with the Adopt-A-Highway program, the Salvation Army, and Titus County Cares. He assists with the Pilot Club League of Dreams program as well as participates with his youth group at St. Michael Catholic Church. 

 

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPHS senior completes High School Aerospace Scholars program

Mount Pleasant High School senior Sherman Butler-Losey has completed NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) program.

HAS is an authentic learning experience for Texas high school juniors to engage with NASA’s mission to become the next generation of explorers. Students can learn about different STEM-related fields of study they might want to pursue in college. Following a series of online lessons, they invited the highest achieving students to an all-expenses-paid, week-long visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston during the summer. Due to the pandemic, they moved that portion of the program to a virtual format.  

Butler-Losey reported that he scored 96% on the first section of the program, individual work over four months, and 102% in the second section, a virtual experience completed in teams. The onsite portion, including planning a mission to Mars. Butler-Losey’s specific job was Spacecraft Propulsion Design.

Upon graduation, Butler-Losey plans to major in Aerospace Engineering. He is the son of John and Janet Losey.

 

1st row: Ryan Sharp, Isabella Greco, Connelly Cowan

2nd row: Merlin Cardona, Anthony Orellana

3rd row: Coach Enrique Martinez

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPHS Congressional Debaters advance to the state

Mount Pleasant High School Speech and Debate competed in the Regional Congressional Debate tournament at the Region VIII Education Service Center on Thursday, November 12. Competing against other 5A schools in our region, Mount Pleasant High School had a great showing taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th places in the competition.

The second year in a row, Mount Pleasant High School would secure all three state advancing places.

Senior Isabella Greco was the Regional Champion, with junior Connelly Cowan placing 2nd and senior Ryan Sharp placing 3rd. Greco, Cowan, and Sharp will all advance to the state meet in January. It will be the first state trip for Greco, the second for Cowan, and the third for Sharp. In 2020, Cowan was a UIL State medalist in Congressional Debate.

Sophomore Anthony Orellana earned 5th place, making him an alternate to state with sophomore Merlin Cardona 7th.

UIL Congress is an individual contest in a large group setting. It models the legislative process of democracy, specifically, the United States Congress. Within this mock legislative assembly competition, contestants draft legislation (proposed laws and position statements) submitted to the tournament. They research the docket of bills and resolutions dealing with real-world social and political policies before the contest to prepare their speeches. At the tournament, students caucus in committees, deliver formal discourse on each piece of legislation’s merits and disadvantages, and vote to pass or defeat the measures they have examined. Parliamentary procedure forms structure for the discourse, and students extemporaneously respond to others’ arguments throughout a session.

Greco, Cowan, and Sharp will compete at the State Congressional Debate tournament in Austin, January 5-7, 2021.