VALDOSTA — Vincent Nathanael Strickler is the 2018 Lowndes High School STAR student.  

The Student Teacher Achievement Recognition award is given to the graduating senior who has achieved the highest score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (administered for college admission), while meeting other program requirements, including being among the Top 10 percent of the graduating class, according to a Lowndes County Schools press release. 

The award is sponsored at the state level by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators Foundation and sponsored locally by the Kiwanis Club of Valdosta.

Strickler selected Christina DiTomasso as his STAR teacher, according to school officials. 

DiTomasso has been teaching math and statistics for 20 years, and for 10 years at Lowndes High School, the release stated. She is also the advisor for the Lowndes High Math Club and Math Team, and for the Lowndes High chapter of Mu Alpha Theta (national math honor society).

She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the University of Florida. 

Strickler and DiTomasso were honored at a banquet March 8.

Stricker is the second of eight children of James and Kathleen Strickler, of Valdosta. His older sister, Brooklyn Strickler, was the 2017 Lowndes High STAR student, according to school officials.

Strickler has also been recognized as a 2018 Commended Scholar by the National Merit Scholarship Program for his performance on the 2016 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. He has hopes that he will be selected as a 2019 National Merit Scholar for his score on the 2017 PSAT, the release stated. 

He will also be recognized at graduation as a Georgia Scholar.

Strickler competes regularly with the multiple award-winning Lowndes High math team. He is vice president of Math Club and a member of Mu Alpha Theta. 

He performs with the Lowndes High Viking Cantors choir and has been selected for Georgia’s All-State Chorus each of the past five years. Strickler is a member of the Lowndes High School Off-Broadway, and recently performed in the musical production of “The Scarlet Pimpernel.”  

He has represented Lowndes High in VEX Robotics competitions and is a member of the Lowndes High Technology Student Association. Strickler belongs to the National Beta Club and will soon achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, according to school officials.

Strickler, 16, will be a six-semester graduate of Lowndes High, according to the release. Upon graduation, Strickler will enroll in honors classes at Valdosta State University while working to earn money so he can serve as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 18. 

Following his two-year mission, he intends to enroll at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he will pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.

Reflecting on his STAR student award, Strickler said, “I’m very thankful for the many wonderful teachers I’ve had over the years I’ve lived in Georgia, and all they did to help me to attain such a high score on the SAT. I am especially grateful to Mrs. Di, whose class was likely the most helpful of all. Not only is she an amazing teacher, she is the diligent and inspiring leader of our math team. I know there are many students at Lowndes High who are grateful to have had her as a teacher.”