Published: May 09, 2008 07:09 pm            

Tri-West student strives for perfection

Fourteen-year-old Alex Stahl set a lofty goal for himself back in first grade. The Lizton student vowed to attend every day of school and eventually attend the University of Notre Dame.

He’s well on his way.

Stahl is set to graduate from Tri-West Middle School on May 24 and has yet to miss a single day of classes.

“Eventually it got to where I hadn’t missed a day in two or three years of school and at that point I saw it as a record,” Stahl said. “I wanted to break it.”

With his spotless streak, Stahl didn’t break any record, but he did earn the distinction of becoming just the second student in the history of the Tri-West school system to have perfect attendance from preschool through eighth grade.

A major source of motivation for Stahl through the years has been his father, Lizton resident Corbin Stahl.

“I’m a very proud dad and am glad to have him,” the elder Stahl said. “He started out just being a B-C student, but being on this mission has helped him to be a better student. When he got his midterms, it was all As and one B.”

Stahl excels in athletics as well as in the classroom. In football, he won the Bruin of the Year award — which is essentially the Tri-West Middle School Most Valuable Player award — two years in a row. The multi-talented athlete also won a county title in wrestling and in track is undefeated in the shot put event.

Nick Sullivan, a teacher and coach at Tri-West Middle School, has had the opportunity to instruct Stahl in the classroom as well as on the field.

“He never misses practices and has no excuses,” Sullivan said. “He’s fought through injuries and being sick. Even on days when he’s sick or injured, he still shows up to practice to gain whatever he can from it.”

Classmates at TWMS have shown Stahl plenty of support.

“My friends think it’s really cool that I haven’t missed a day of school and some of them say they could never do it,” Alex Stahl said. “My teachers think it’s cool too and the principal said he was going to mention it at our eighth-grade graduation.”

kevin.leibrock@flyergroup.com

        

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