Pinkston Street Elementary fifth grader a 'social butterfly'
Feb. 6—HENDERSON — Before Vance County Schools Director of Fine Arts and Physical Education Andrew Markoch announced the name of Pinkston Street Elementary School's Student Spotlight selection, a few students pointed right at Yarely Mariano.
They were right.
Mariano, a fifth grader at the school, won the distinction for displaying the school's "roaring expectations," read the submission form.
Jhaneille Downer, Mariano's math and science teacher, described her as a "social butterfly."
"She will be the person to just engage in conversations with you," Downer said. "She will be there to just pop a joke. She will tell you something about her culture."
Mariano often shares cultural tidbits from part of her family's place of ancestry, Mexico. She is fluent in Spanish and helps translate the school's daily morning announcements that come over the intercom.
She also assists other students with their academic careers.
At least one of Mariano's classes is in a wing called College Row, a hallway decorated with pennant flags from every North Carolina college you can think of.
Downer gave some insight:
"We want our students to see
that they have a bright future
ahead of them," Downer said,
"so we want them to know that
there are different colleges out
there that they can choose from. I instill in my students a growth mindset."
Mariano is certainly college-focused. She seems committed to North Carolina State University — members of the Wolfpack, rejoice. She became interested in the institution when she received a pillow emblazoned with the school's iconic mascot from a family friend.
"Wow," she recounted, "I'm fascinated!"
"One thing I realized about [Mariano] is her academic growth," Downer said, "so I would say that I was looking at her as a caterpillar who has grown into a beautiful butterfly. She's working assiduously towards her goals."
Mariano aced her last science check-in test.
"I was showing her score for mathematics, and she broke down in tears," Downer said. "And that's how I know that this girl is really a Spotlight Student."
She didn't receive a score below 90 among her three other check-in tests.
Downer said she's an "all-around student" — She's a member of the school's robotics team, the Beta Club and others. Lynna, Mariano's older sister and a student at Vance County Early College, is also a member of the Beta Club.
Mariano speaks highly of her sister, Downer said — Mariano wants to follow in her footsteps and get into Early College as well.
"One thing I can say about Pinkston Street is that we are family," said Downer, "So we look out for children, we try to have that relationship with our parents and children..."
The school tries to encourage positive behavior in schools.
She's considering becoming a science teacher when she grows up, "but that's a whole bunch of years of school," she noted. Real estate is another path — because real estate agents "earn a good salary."
"I have a plenty of backups in case one fails," she said. Photography, perhaps; or, "the husband will work for me," she said.
Beyond being a good student, Mariano has a strong sense of humor.
"She's the only one in the family who can make a joke about everything," said Mariano's mother, Adriana Valencia.
"We're just very proud of her," said Valencia. "As Ms. Downer said, she's a very outgoing child. I guess she gets put on the back burner — for her to get that recognition is very... It makes us happy."
Despite it all, the spotlight came as a complete surprise.
"This morning, I thought I was going to do my regular routine," Mariano said. "But I never thought I would be Student Spotlight."
"It's emotional," Valencia said of the occasion. "She has grown up a lot."
