2015

Rotary Speech Contest

Selected through written applications, the Warrenton contest participants wrote and delivered original, memorized speeches of five to eight minutes with the theme of “Light Up Rotary.”

2016

"In light of this early commitment, he plans to pursue Aeronautics and Space Engineering in college and will attend VASTS this summer."

Niles Ribeiro, 17, is a rising senior at Fauquier High School and at Mountain Vista Governor’s School in Fauquier County.  He is on his school’s Academic Team (undefeated in the district), and is obsessed with 3D puzzles, having acquired a dozen variants of the Rubik’s Cube and produced a few how-to videos. His passion for chess led him to teach children’s chess classes as an eighth grader, when he was Student of the Year.  Niles plans to share his love of puzzles and chess by volunteering at his local Boys and Girls Club.

            At age two, Niles could identify every craft in both Jerry Pallotta’s Jet Alphabet Book and the Airplane Alphabet Book.  In light of this early commitment, he plans to pursue Aeronautics and Space Engineering in college and will attend VASTS this summer.  VASTS (Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars) is a competitive program held at NASA’s Langley Research Center.  Last year, he was selected as a Virginia Space Coast Scholar, and was commended by a Joint Resolution of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s General Assembly for it.

Niles also enjoys photography and cooking, and has two brothers and three sisters who sometimes are the subjects/victims of both of these “talents.”