Three years ago, Aysia Adams enrolled at Montgomery County High School as a freshman after living in Waynesville.

Since her first day at the school on Aug. 24, 2021, the MCHS senior has been solid in the classroom. On Sept. 19, she received her third academic award at the annual MCHS Academic Honors Brunch, which was held at the school’s gymnasium.

“I’m really happy that I was able to come here today and get another award,” Adams said. “I hope to get my gold medal at the end of my senior year. I’m so proud of my classmates.”

Adams was one of 50 students who received awards at the one-hour event, which started off with students and parents having breakfast and had opening remarks from R-II Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jocelyn Schluss and MCHS language arts teacher Julie Ellis.

Academic awards were handed out to sophomores, juniors and seniors. A student must have an annual grade point average of 3.7 or higher, be active in the school and community and have a strong attendance rate to receive an academic achievement award from MCHS. The event was sponsored by the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce.

There were 19 seniors who earned awards at the academic brunch, more than any other class. Out of that group, 16 of them received awards all three years.

Karla Gonzalez is another senior who received an academic award for the third year in a row. She said she credits her parents for her work ethic in the classroom.

“They come from Mexico, so for them coming here and me getting this, I’m very proud of myself and they’re very proud of me for it,” Gonzalez said. “They didn’t get to have the experience that I have.”

The Academic Honors Brunch honored the school’s Academic Hall of Fame recipients from 1990 to present. Ellis, who was a Missouri Teacher of the Year finalist in 2019, was one of those recipients, earning her award in 1991.

During her 15-minute speech, Ellis applauded the parents for helping the students become successful in the classroom.

“Thank you parents for supporting your students in their academic endeavors,” Ellis said. “Thank you students for working hard to earn and grow here at MCHS.”

Adams said she was thrilled to see Ellis make a speech.

“I’m taking her speech class right now, so it’s really cool to see her actually give a speech so I could definitely learn from seeing her giving a speech to do good in my speech class with her,” the senior said.

In 2021, Adams and her family moved to Montgomery County after her father – who grew up in the country – retired from the military.

“I like it,” said Adams, who works at Medicine Shoppe in Montgomery City. “It’s definitely different from all of the other places I’ve been to. It’s a lot smaller, but the community is great. Everyone is super nice. I love it. All of my family is here, so it’s really great.”

Adams has gotten mostly A’s during her four years at MCHS. She said she credits her classmates for her academic success.

“We have a ton of amazing students here and all of them motivate me to do my best,” said Adams, who plans to attend St. Charles Community College and major in finance. “We have so many successful students and I just try to do the best I can.”