Austin Gaspard named KHS student of the year

Austin Gaspard, a senior at Kaplan High, was named the 2013-2014 “Kaplan High Student of the Year”.
Austin has been a Beta club member for six years and this year served as District Beta Governor. He has been a student council member for four years and currently serving as Student Body President. He has also been a Key club member for four years and currently serving as President.
Austin is a member of Holy Rosary Youth Group. This past summer he was chosen to attend Boy State. During his years at Kaplan High School he played the saxophone in band one year, French club one year and speech club three years and a member of the Kaplan Jr. City Council for one year. He was chosen as the Kaplan High COX scholar of the week.
Austin has been an active 4-H member for nine years, earning top boy of the parish twice and outstanding club member each year. He is currently serving as president of his KHS club.
The past eight years, Ahe has been a part of the Vermilion parish swine show team where he has earned five showmanship buckles and four premier exhibitor buckles. He has also won the Kennedy award and this year will receive the Governors award for his swine records. He has been a Vermilion Parish Jr. Leader for five years, earning top Jr. Leader twice. He is serving his second term as president this year. The past five years Austin has actively participated in a yearlong service-learning project where he traveled with the Jr. Leader club to connect with each project. These projects include Special needs children, Career Exploration, where he traveled to Orlando, Florida and participated in the YES (youth educational series) educational program in Disney, Cancer awareness, he traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to visit and bring donations to St. Jude’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald house, Connecting Generations with the elderly, he traveled to Orlando, Florida to paint homes for elderly people who were not able to do so themselves through the organization, Citizens First. This years project is hunger awareness, In April Austin will be traveling to Perryville, Arkansas to visit and stay at Heifer International over night.
Austin has been a member of the State 4-H Executive board for two years and is presently serving as State Parliamentarian. He has won 12 state titles and five national titles where he won all expense paid trips to California, Tennessee, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Virginia and numerous places in Louisiana. Austin say’s,
“I have been very fortunate to achieve all that I have. The trips, awards and money have been great! Although, with that said, the biggest rewards I have walked away with is the experiences and the relationships I have made. I have been touched by so many of the stories of others from across the United States.”
Austin is an active participant of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC), which is a program that ties the Louisiana Legislature with 21 students selected from across the State of Louisiana. Austin has been humbled by all the support his community has given him over the years and tries to give back. The project he has been most passionate about is the Farm Bureau Safe Driving Campaign. Austin has put numerous hours in building presentations and has also interviewed two parents who have lost children from distracted driving for his presentations. He has placed 1st in this contest for the four years this contest has existed. What has started out, as a competition has become a mission for Gaspard to try to make a difference in the lives of youth. Austin states, “ If I can save one life, my effort and time pay off.” Austin was one of two students chosen in Louisiana to travel to Virginia his past fall to participate in the National Organizations for Youth Safety Coalition Meeting.
Austin’s love for technology and his community put him on a path for a mission that his school’s students and administration benefited from. Austin’s mission to up date Kaplan High with today’s technology happened when his proposal to Kaplan Telephone was accepted and he was able to get two monitors to hang in KHS. He also made, edited and submitted a video on be half of the school, which earned money for the school to purchase new stadium speakers. Last year Austin started the first ever Tech club in Vermilion Parish, where he met with members monthly to teach different aspects of technology.
After graduation Austin plans to attend UL where he will major in computer science.
Austin is the son of Michelle and Marshall Gaspard of Kaplan.