Each Month, The faculty of Green High School selects two students to be the student of the month. These students represent the main pillars of Green Local Schools: safety, kindness, and responsibility. They are picked for their academic excellence, but also for their involvement in their school and community. For the month of October, the chosen students are senior Ella Mattes, and senior Ethan Trochowski. Already this year, both of these students have exhibited their academic motivation, helping them to excel in and out of the classroom.
Ethan Trochowski is a devoted student. So far in his high school career, he has taken a multitude of advanced courses, including both Advanced Placement and College Credit Plus classes.
“Some of [my] hardest [classes] are AP Literature and AP US History,” Trochowski ’25 said. “It’s definitely a challenge.”
With such a rigorous schedule, Trochowski has to dedicate a lot of time, both inside and outside of school, to maintaining his grades and overall school performance.
“[I spend] like at least 4 hours a day [studying],” He said. “It takes a lot especially for those AP classes.”
However, even though the workload is so demanding, Ethan is able to stay on top of it through personal will and motivation, but also from the people around him.
“The three most impactful teachers [to me] are probably Mrs. Wirble, Mrs. Nicodemo and Mr. Donnelly. They’ve all had some of the biggest effects on me,” said Trochowski. “I’ve had some of the best teachers in the school and they’ve all been great motivators.”
On top of all of his school work, Ethan still makes time to be involved both in the school and in the community of Green.
Trochowski is a member of the cross country team, is the president of the library advisory board, helping to facilitate events throughout the library, and is a member of Select Choir. Outside of school, he is a Student Municipal Representative, serving on the Mayoral Advisory Committee, and is a representative to the Ohio Attorney General’s office, serving as a representative of Summit County.
“[The Student Municipal Representative Program} is a great program,” said Trochowski. “There’s a lot of people and it’s really grown a lot. I love it.”
In addition to Ethan, the other student of the month for October is senior Ella Mattes. Mattes has a very active role in student leadership positions throughout the school. She is the president of NHS and Stem club and is the secretary of Bulldog Ambassadors. On top of that, she is involved in student council, as the President of the Class of 2025.
“It’s a lot,” said Mattes. “[But] I like when people enjoy the events that me and the other officers have planned.”
In addition to her involvement in school extracurricular activities, she has two jobs around the City of Green.
“I work at Sweet Frog and the Central Administration Building, ” said Mattes. “I film the meetings that they have there.”
During the school day, Mattes has a busy schedule: taking three CCP classes, Honors Physics and AP Calculus. In order to stay on top of the workload, Mattes dedicates a lot of time, both during and after school to her classes and homework.
“College has always been what I’m pushing myself towards,” said Mattes. “I think that’s what has motivated me the past 4 years.”
Looking forward, both Mattes and Trochowski are planning on going to college, which is part of the reason they are both so dedicated to maintaining grades, and being involved in their school and community.
Mattes has applied to The Ohio State University , where she hopes to attend and plans to study molecular genetics.
“I want to be a genetic counselor or a genetic researcher,” said Mattes. “I’ve even thought about going to medical school.”
Trochowski plans to go to Bowling Green University for aviation studies, as he hopes to be a commercial pilot in the future.
“[Being a senior] isn’t what I was expecting,” said Trochowski. “It’s a very surreal experience and I’m fearful sometimes for what’s to come in the future, but it’s also really exciting.”