STAR student named

STAR: Fannin County choice receives high praise

  • Brendan Little, second from left, is this year’s STAR Student. He is shown with, from left, Fannin County High School Principal Dr. Scott Ramsey, STAR Teacher Sabrina Howard and school Counselor Christina Zell.
    Brendan Little, second from left, is this year’s STAR Student. He is shown with, from left, Fannin County High School Principal Dr. Scott Ramsey, STAR Teacher Sabrina Howard and school Counselor Christina Zell.
  • Brendan Little, second from left, is this year’s STAR Student. He is shown with, from left, mother Christiane, father Ambrose, STAR Teacher Sabrina Howard and Blue Ridge Kiwanian Sharon McFarland, from left.
    Brendan Little, second from left, is this year’s STAR Student. He is shown with, from left, mother Christiane, father Ambrose, STAR Teacher Sabrina Howard and Blue Ridge Kiwanian Sharon McFarland, from left.
  • Blue Ridge Kiwanian Jessie Pinson, left, presents a check to STAR Student Brendan Little during a banquet Monday, February 3. They are shown alongside STAR Teacher Sabrina Howard and Blue Ridge Kiwanian Bill Echelberger.
    Blue Ridge Kiwanian Jessie Pinson, left, presents a check to STAR Student Brendan Little during a banquet Monday, February 3. They are shown alongside STAR Teacher Sabrina Howard and Blue Ridge Kiwanian Bill Echelberger.

    Fannin County High School’s Brendan Little is the 2025 STAR Student, and Sabrina Howard is the 2025 STAR Teacher.

    The pair was recognized during a banquet sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Blue Ridge Monday, February 3, at Circle J Family Steak House.

    “I feel very blessed to be here today,” Little said. “I’m thankful to all of the people who have helped me get here. It’s been incredible. It was a struggle to try to stay up there in keeping my grades up. Some days I felt wiped out by the end. The SAT, when I took that, I had to study for days, but all of the hard work has finally paid off.”

    STAR stands for Student Teacher Achievement Recognition and is a distinction given to one high school senior at a participating school who scored the highest in one sitting on the SAT while maintaining a top 10 or 10 percent class rank based on grade point average.

    After being selected at the school level, students go on to compete for a regional title.

    If Little is successful, he will then move on to the state competition.

    A local student has gone to state twice in the 67 years of the competition with the most recent having been in 2020.

    The local Kiwanis Club has been sponsoring the area’s STAR Students for all of those years, while the competition itself is orchestrated by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and PAGE Foundation.

    Upon reviewing student ranks and SAT scores, school Counselor Christina Zell said, “I was so excited to get the top 10 students... so when I saw Brendan’s, I was just blown away. Obviously the highest one, almost near perfect.”

    Of Little, Howard explained that she has known him since his freshman year when he joined the academic team for which she is the advisor.

    “As Brendan has aged and taken more and more difficult content classes, his knowledge has increased making him a competitive player on our team,” she said. “His knowledge of obscure things amazes me and has allowed him to dominate during our competitions.”

    She went on to remark about his inquisitive nature saying, “It was a pleasure to teach Brendan as he was a stellar student. He calls me to reevaluate my lessons and teaching strategies pushing me to be a better teacher.”

    In the future, Little plans on attending the University of North Georgia to complete his core classes before transferring to Georgia Tech. Although he is open to exploring options, he intends on studying environmental science with the hope of tackling global warming.

    “Once in class, I asked Brendan what he wanted to do in the future, not the answer I was expecting, as I thought he might be an engineer or something to do with math, Brendan said he wanted to help people by solving global warming. ... When I think about Brendan, the person he is with his academic achievements, his brilliant mind and determined nature, I can’t think of a person more suited to solve the world’s problems.”

    In addition to a plaque and recognition, the Kiwanis Club presented Brendan Little with a $1,000 check.

    In introducing Brendan Little, Principal Dr. Scott Ramsey said, “I promise you, he’s the smartest person in the room, maybe even the state, and he comes from a very smart family.”

    He is the son of Ambrose and Christiane Little.

    As for Howard, she is a chemistry and physics teacher at the high school.

    “I picked her as my STAR Teacher because ever since my freshman year, when I first met her,” Little told, “she has been a source of strength and support and always just kind of been there to talk to at the end of the day.”

    Also speaking to Howard’s character, Ramsey said, “Mrs. Howard is one of those that goes above and beyond for her kids, and it is no surprise that he picked her to be his STAR Teacher. She is fantastic at what she does.”

    The STAR Teacher is nominated by the STAR Student based on their impact in the students’ academic careers.

    Though nominations are typically made by Mountain Area Christian Academy as well, there were none this year, Kiwanian Sharon McFarland said.