In life some people hit their stride in college, or when they start a great career, or when they become a parent. We sat down with eight Acadiana kids and young adults who we think are already bright stars — each in their own way.

Representing a variety of schools, ages, interests and backgrounds, these students were nominated by someone close to them who knows first-hand the nature of their greatness. Teachers, principals, club leaders and program directors sent us lists of the kids’ impressive achievements and evidence of their accomplishments. But perhaps more revealing, they also praised the nominees for qualities like kindness, maturity, civility, sensitivity, leadership and determination. These are the characteristics that are the foundation for their achievements.

This year we celebrate Zorièl Tapo, Jeanne-Avery Chauvin, Ian Barras, Taylor Horton, Amelie Boatman, Zykeiveyun Narcisse, Grant Suire and Mia Comeaux. We think you’ll find these eight students — with the support of their families, schools and communities — exemplify what it means to be Bright from the Start!

Amelie Boatman, 13

Belle Place Middle School | Seventh Grade

When seventh grader Amelie Boatman thinks about her place among the Bright From the Start finalists, she admits it didn’t occur to her that she might be seen as a positive influence on others. “But that would be really cool if I was,” she says with a smile.

The outgoing gifted and talented student recently earned a spot on her school’s cheer squad and says she’s looking forward to summer practices and cheering at games next year. She earns straight A’s but reveals she doesn’t have to study, explaining she mostly just listens in class and is able to retain the information. “I don’t know how not to make good grades,” she says with sincere modesty.

Amelie is in the French immersion program and scored an impressive 66 on her College-Level Examination Program, earning her three college-level French course credits before even entering high school. She is also a talented artist who enjoys drawing portraits and still lifes and she is enrolled in the Talented Arts Program for Iberia Parish Schools. Last year she was named North Lewis Elementary Student of the Year.

If you want to see Amelie light up, talk to her about her crafting. Her interests have changed over the years to include crochet, knitting and sewing, but now her favorite hobby is to thrift shop (at a store or in her mother’s closet) and repurpose or otherwise alter the garments. “The skirt I’m wearing today is a thrift find!” She says her creativity comes in spurts. “Sometimes I see something and get a spark and I just get into sewing in bursts. Then I wear myself out and go onto something else,” she recalls with a laugh.

For as long as she can remember, she’s always wanted to be a neurosurgeon or an ob/gyn, but she’s been considering other options lately. “Recently I’ve wanted to look at a career in business and have a more creative job.” Whatever Amelie decides to do later in life, she is already making her mark. Her proud teachers and parents agree she has only just begun.

Grant Suire, 17

Episcopal School of Acadiana – Cade | Senior

Anyone who’s met Grant Suire will agree, he is a visionary. Ask him a question and he’ll give you a fully formed, well-structured, passionate answer that will likely change the way you think on the issue — even if you disagree. “I’ve always found my strength is in changing the conversation,” he says.

This Bright from the Start finalist has a list of achievements that is as impressive as it is long. He’s maintained a 4.3 GPA. He’s quiz bowl captain and class president for the second year. He’s president of the Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council and was one of only two Louisiana delegates chosen for the Senate Youth Program. That’s just to name a few.

“I’ve done a lot of things, but what I’m most excited about is what I’m going to be doing,” he says. This fall Grant is attending the U.S. Naval Academy, where he plans to major in either International Relations or Quantitative Economics. “I’m somebody who is interested in leading my generation – or at least playing a part in the big decisions we’re going to face, [which are] invariably centered around our place in the global community and economics.”

Grant is sure-footed in his beliefs, but eager to hear new ideas and opposing views. His style of passion reflects a desire to cause positive change, not to win the debate. He calls on young people and rising leaders to adopt an internationalist world view and rejects myopic thinking and binary politics. He says, “One of the strongest indicators of a civilized and disciplined people is a universal ability to identify as one. Recognizing our national, universal interests is important, as well as recognizing the different needs and vulnerabilities that each community has.” He adds, “And it takes courage to listen.”

Whether the future finds Grant in a top political position, as the man behind the scenes, or as the face of an entire movement, his thoughts on leadership are founded in the same principal: “Being a leader means being inspiring – beginning with being inspired.”

Ian Barras, 11

North Lewis Elementary, Fifth Grade

If you ask Ian Barras why he thinks he’s a Bright from the Start finalist, he’ll tell you it’s because of “all the cool things” he’s done. But don’t let his modesty fool you. Ian is one of the brightest and most interesting people you’ll meet.

Sandwiched in age between two brothers, Ian approaches things with a sort of scientific creativity doused in humor. He uses words like “oxymoron” (correctly) and frequently glosses over his achievements, opting instead to describe in detail the last model airplane he assembled. It was an A-10.

In fact, Ian is a remarkable student. He’s in both the gifted and talented program and French immersion program and he stays on the principal’s list month after month. He’s not one to dwell too long on his academic accomplishments, though. It’s as though he thinks they are beside the point, given all the other interesting things to talk about.

Ian is much more likely to want to discuss aviation, or his (many) pets or origami. “It’s chaos when I do it,” he says about his paper-folding hobby. He wants to be an aviation engineer and he’s a frequent attendee of space camps in Alabama and Texas. He loves to make airplanes out of foam board and he stops our interview just long enough to appeal to his mother for more model airplane supplies.

When he’s not immersed in aviation, Ian takes private music lessons for piano and, more recently, guitar. He’s a Boy Scout, he plays chess, and he likes to swim, draw, and play video games. He’s an avid reader but has learned not to bring a book to class, because it “causes a distraction.”

Ian says that if he could hang out with anybody, past or present, for a day, it would be Albert Einstein. Asked what they might do, Ian replies, “I would teach him how to put together model airplanes.”

Jeanne-Avery Chauvin, 17

Catholic High School | Junior

More than ten years ago, Jeanne-Avery Chauvin began a lifelong journey that would test her limits and push her to succeed in ways no one expected. Diagnosed at six years old with osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer, Jeanne-Avery had more than 100 surgeries and seven rounds of chemotherapy. She lost her hair and grew it back, only to lose it again. Many birthdays and holidays were spent in hospitals and at physical therapy. She relearned again and again how to get around with new surgical wounds, a shortened leg and sometimes a wheelchair.

If you want to feel sorry for Jeanne-Avery, you’d be wasting your time. Today this Bright From the Start finalist is a varsity cheerleader and student body vice president who has mastered her prosthesis (a blade-like extension for her leg she calls her “boot”) and perfected the art of sheer determination.

“Of course there were times when I wanted to give up,” she admits. “I didn’t want to see the nurses or go to the hospital.” But Jeanne-Avery found a way to draw strength from her friends, parents and two younger brothers. She credits brother Jack, a sophomore at CHS, with discovering her tumor when he accidentally fell on top of her leg while jumping on the bed. The siblings formed a bond then are still an inspiration to one another today.

In many ways Jeanne-Avery uses her medical experiences as motivation when she’s overwhelmed or scared. When trying to overcome her anxiety about cheer tryouts, she called on those old coping strategies. “I said to myself, ‘You didn’t give up then. Don’t give up now.’”

For now Jeanne-Avery is in remission and has no immediate need for more surgeries or treatments. She’s looking forward to cheer practice this summer and a senior year uninterrupted by COVID. She breathes a visible sigh of relief when she thinks about the future free of those challenges. “I couldn’t take a lot of the opportunities others had when I was young, so now I’m ready,” she says. “Let’s go!”

Mia Comeaux

Delcambre Elementary School | Fifth Grade

There are few fifth graders you’ll meet with more poise and purpose than Bright From the Start finalist Mia Comeaux. “I’ve always known what I want to work for and what I want to do when I get older,” she says, recalling it was an ASPCA commercial that first convinced her that veterinary medicine was her calling. “I would see those dogs and I just wanted to help them.”

She has plans to attend LSU School of Veterinary Medicine eventually, but for now she’s busy being an outstanding student in the gifted and talented program and serving as 4-H Club secretary and Junior Beta Club president. She especially enjoys her English Language Arts class, where they recently learned about the merits of scientific inquiry in writing.

Mia is the 2021 Delcambre Elementary and Iberia Parish Student of the Year, which was a surprise to Mia, who said she had no idea it was coming. She is a prolific reader, having earned an impressive 1,000 points in her accelerated reading program this year, the highest in Delcambre. Aside from her genuine enjoyment of books, knocking her older brother out of the reading Hall of Fame by surpassing his points is a little lagniappe.

Outside of school Mia shines just as bright. She participates in awareness events, like The Walk for Autism, she sold baked goods to raise money for St. Jude’s Hospital, and instead of gifts for her tenth birthday party, she requested that everyone give her pet food, which she donated to Angel Paws Animal Shelter — something she plans to make a tradition.

Mia is comfortable being a leader and admits, “Sometimes I’m doing something with a group and I accidentally take charge. Then everyone looks to me for what’s next.” She believes that true leadership is putting others first and adds, “Don’t be afraid to do what’s right, even if doing the wrong thing is easy.” In reflecting on how she might have influence on others, Mia says, “I hope I can inspire people to be kinder.”

Taylor Horton, 15

Delcambre High School | Junior

High school junior Taylor Horton describes herself as an extremely organized perfectionist who tends to finish projects days before they’re due, but that’s only a part of what makes this Bright From the Start finalist so impressive. Not only does she have a perfect grade point average and the admiration of all of her teachers, she is also a passionate defender of human rights who wants to go to law school so she can fight for people who are wrongfully accused.

While the gifted and talented student understands why most people give up on the world’s problems, thinking they’re more than any one person can handle, she says, “I feel like everyone needs to start somewhere. If we’re each a part of the solution, then things will get better a lot quicker.” Taylor is soft-spoken and prefers to be “behind the scenes,” but accepts that being a leader is expected of someone with her drive. Leadership, she says, is “how you step up to the challenge and how you direct others to do the best they can do.”

Taylor may be quiet in nature, but she is fierce in purpose. She wants to shake things up when she gets out into the world. She becomes visibly passionate when talking about social injustice. “There’s so much prejudice in the world and, especially in America, people think it’s a thing of the past. But it’s really not.” She sees the beginnings of change in society, but says the solution is not going to be an overnight fix.

When Taylor is not in school, she’s decompressing in her garden, playing the piano or hanging out with friends or her church group. If she could spend some time with one of her historic heroes, she says (emphatically) it would be Giordano Bruno, an Italian philosopher of the late 1500s, who challenged long-held beliefs that the Earth was the center of the universe. It’s easy to see what Taylor, a future trailblazer for justice, admires in the philosopher who said, “The universe is infinite.”

Zhoriél Tapo, 12

LJ Alleman Fine Arts Magnet Academy | Sixth Grade

Readers may already recognize this Bright From the Start finalist. Zhoriél Tapo has appeared in several commercials and local productions and was recently featured on an Acadiana newscast for being one of only a handful of kids chosen to interview Michelle Obama.

As an official Kid Reporter for Scholastic Kids Press, Zhoriél is among a select group of young journalists that writes “news for kids, by kids.” Her articles, which appear online at kpcnotebook.scholastic.com, cover topics like letter-writing campaigns during the pandemic and hurricanes in the era of climate change — and, of course, Michelle Obama’s new show on Netflix. Her proudest interview (also a livestreamed Instagram event) was with Misty Copeland, the first African American female principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. “So much preparation went into that interview. It went perfectly!” she beams.

With guidance from her editor in chief, Zhoriél has learned how to be a better researcher and writer. But she also treasures the friendships she’s developed with the people she interviews. “I remember the first article I ever wrote, which was STEM Fest in New Orleans,” she recalls. I’m still friends with the people I interviewed! Every time I do an article, I’m getting exposed to another friendship.”

When she’s not writing or acting, she’s attending LJ Alleman Magnet, where she studies violin. Helping her community is as important as anything else to Zhoriél. She participated in a playground clean-up, assisted in packing book bags full of school supplies, and helped raise over $5,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

As for the future, Zhoriél is considering a career in journalism, medicine or veterinary care. Kindness, she believes, is the most important quality in a leader. She is optimistic about what’s to come, but doesn’t get too far ahead of herself. “I try my best to stay in the present, because I feel that if I look too far in the future, you’re just passing up the present. I want to stay a kid right now.”

Zykeiveyun Narcisse, 18

Westgate High School | Senior

When Zykeiveyun Narcisse was seven years old, he became a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana. Not long after, as he recalls, he got in a fight with another boy; he doesn’t remember why. Over the following 11 years, Zykeiveyun committed to attending the Iberia Club regularly. He worked hard, took initiative and listened to every lesson they taught him. Today this Bright from the Start finalist is the Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana Youth of the Year.

“They showed me how to solve the problem and not fight,” the senior recalls. “I just kept going, and then they started seeing me as a leader.” Particularly inspirational to Zykeiveyun over the years has been the Club’s program lead D’andre “Dre” Hypolite. “Mr. Dre’ taught me a lot and saw something different in me. He saw leadership and growth.”

Zykeiveyun works at the clubhouse each day after school, teaching younger participants about responsibility and self-reliance. He assists club members with homework, has led a teen panel that increased membership by 38%, and coaches a youth football team that he initiated. He’s excited about graduating from high school and plans to take his core courses in business at SLCC and continue working at the Club. “Why do I do it? For my family,” he says. “They keep me going with support and love. Tough love, but it’s all love,” he adds with a smile.

Zykeiveyun, who lives with his mom, two siblings and a pomeranian name Fendi, says his biggest challenge in life has been growing up without a father figure. He admits it’s given him the motivation to take care of himself “the right way” and to try solving problems on his own, while knowing when to ask for help.

He knows he’s matured over the years and credits the Boys & Girls Club for that influence. He offers this advice to younger club members wanting to be leaders one day: “Don’t be a follower. Stand out and show your true colors. Don’t let the next person tell you what to do, especially if they’re going the wrong route.”