Ten St. Louis metro area kids have been named 2005 Gateway Young Achievers of the Year. The awards go to elementary, middle and senior high students for accomplishments in school and in various service and artistic areas.

The 2005 Gateway Young Achievers are:

Elementary school (Grades 5-6)
* Holly Doerr, Affton
* Jordan Umstead, Florissant

Middle school (Grades 7-8)
* Allison Langenfeld, Arnold
* Tricia McDonough, Fenton

High school (Grades 9-10)
* Brad Pingel, St. Charles
* Jessica Rapp, Mehlville

Faith in Action
* Jordyn Dinwiddie, Festus

Mentor
* Allison Toepfer, Fenton

Music
* Christopher Ash, Edwardsville, Ill.

Service
* Alex Neaveill, Pacific

This marks the 15th year that the International Leadership Network has been naming Young Achievers. The local Gateway Young Achiever award program is made possible by the Millstone Foundation of St. Louis.

Over 370 youngsters from the metro St. Louis area were nominated.

Fifty finalists were named medallion winners and received $50 gift certificates. After personal interviews and auditions, 10 of the finalists were named Gateway Achievers. They receive a $1,000 savings bond and are eligible for the national Young Achiever competition.

The 10 Young Achievers, their parents and their sponsors were honored at a breakfast on Friday, April 29, at the Junior League.

A 2005 awards ceremony for the 50 medallion winners will be held Sunday, May 1, at the Busch Student Center on the campus of Saint Louis University.

(Young Saint Louis.com is a website focused primarily on kids 8 through 13. YSL.com will follow this general story with a series of individual profiles on the six elementary and middle school Achievers. The first profile will be in the June edition.)

The following are sketches on the elementary and middle school winners:

Holly Doerr, 5th grade, Gotsch Intermediate in Affton

Holly has achieved straight A grades since kindergarten. She is now participating in the school's gifted program. In both 3rd and 4th grade, she earned blue ribbons in the school's science fair competition. She also has served as a student senate representative for three years. Holly began writing as a pre-schooler and now writes poetry, song lyrics and detailed short stories. She hopes to be an author of children's books.

Jordan Umstead, 5th grade, Keeven Elementary in Florissant

Jordan has been elected student council representative for three years. He is a straight-A student. He also has been an active member of the Keeven Chorus and serves as student intercom announcer. He is a school safety patrol officer. Outside of school, he is a leader in his Boy Scout Troop and plays on basketball and soccer teams. He has taken part in a number of scout and school fundraising events.

Allison Langenfeld, 8th grade, Holy Child in Arnold

Allison has been very active in volunteering for a variety of school and outside activities. Included were over 300 hours in the Adopt-a-Stray program and with various church service projects. She also has volunteered in tutoring. Allison was secretary of the Student Council in 7th grade and has been president of the council in 8th grade. She has been an honor roll member for every school year.

Tricia McDonough, 8th grade, Rockwood South Middle in Fenton

Tricia has established an outstanding record in academics and in participation in a wide variety of school and outside activities. She has a 4.0 grade point average and has received academic awards in math, science, geography and language arts. In addition, she has been a student council representative since 3rd grade. She has been involved in music, track and drama. She has been on the yearbook staff. She has volunteered for various organizations, including the Fenton Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

Jordyn Dinwiddie, 7th grade, Festus Middle in Festus

Jordyn's Young Achiever award was in the Faith in Action category. An outstanding student and athlete in school, she has been very active in church service projects. They include work as a power-point technician at her church's contemporary worship service. She also has been on mission trips and volunteers in Vacation Bible School programs.

Christopher Ash, 8th grade, Liberty Middle in Edwardsville, Ill.

Christopher's Young Achiever award was in the Music category. As a middle school student, he has maintained a 4.0 grade point average. He participates in football and track and in Boy Scouts. His musical accomplishments including touring in France with Southern Illinois University's Suzuki violin tour group. He has been 1st violin chair in the Liberty Middle School Orchestra and been in the Edwardsville Youth Orchestra since 1999. He was 1st violin chair in the All-District Festival orchestra. Because the school orchestra needed cello help, he volunteered to move from violin to cello and is now 1st cello chair.

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