Cecile Granger, center, poses with her parents Juliet Granger, left, and Johnathan Granger, right. 

A senior student at New Iberia Senior High was chosen as Iberia Parish’s Student of the Year and is on her way to competing in a regional competition.

Cecile Granger, 17, is the daughter of Johnathan and Juliet Granger and was initially selected as a NISH top student after school staff and administration reviewed several applications for the honor. Students receiving the distinction are chosen based on a rubric that includes GPA, extracurricular activities, achievements and other criteria.

Cecile went on to compete with other top students in districts in the area and is now competing in a regional competition. If she wins that competition, she will move on to compete in the state student of the year competition.

NISH Principal Emanuel Harding said Cecile was very deserving of the award and has always gone above and beyond in terms of her academic performance.

“She is very sweet and hardworking,” Harding said Friday morning. “She’s involved in a bunch of things, I don’t know how she finds the time to do everything.

Some of those extracurriculars involve soccer, Eagle Scouts and being a drum major all the while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

Victoria Landry, a forensics science teacher at NISH, said that Cecile is one of her hardest working students.

“I have had the pleasure of teaching Cecile twice now,” Landry said in a prepared statement. “She is truly a spot of sunshine in my day and classroom! She is one of the most responsible and considerate students I have ever taught! Her kindness and supportive personality know no bounds.”.

Paula Barras, a guidance counselor at NISH, also said that Cecile was deserving of the distinction.

“Cecile is an all-around great kid,” Barras said in a prepared statement. “Her outgoing personality shines on everything she does, and you just can’t help but love her! “