Blue School senior Arianna Piscatelli is the 2011 Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce Junior Citizen of the Year. Arianna and other outstanding community members were honored at the annual awards banquet April 7th.

Arianna was recently recognized for her national and state achievements in agriscience, including the Oregon State Start in Agriscience award. As a junior, Arianna took top honors in the FFA National Agriscience award in zoology with a poultry feed experiment.

Blue School Principal Dan Malone cited her many community volunteer activities, including many spent teaching animal care to children and adults. When she learned he mother was diagnosed with cancer, Malone said Arianna’s senior project raised $3,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation to fight cancer.

“The most telling sign that Arianna is a leader is her ceaseless desire to help others said Malone. She is relentless in her pursuit of her goals and her greater calling to give back.

The Junior Citizen Award is given annually in recognition of a student whose achievement is something that contributes to the betterment of the community, sets and example or encourages participation of others.