Eastern Student Gets Early Jump on College

Juan Paolo Figueras is the September Student of the Month at Eastern Center for Arts and Technology in Willow Grove. 

A student in Eastern's computer network administration program, Juan Paolo is a senior at Springfield High School. 

He maintains high grades in his computer network administration program, and through Eastern’s dual enrollment agreement with Montgomery County Community College, Juan Paolo has already earned nine college credits. 

"Juan Paolo has been a pleasure to have in class,” Karon Crickmore, Eastern's computer network administration instructor said in a press release. “Through SkillsUSA, he has truly begun to demonstrate his leadership skills, and I am looking forward to the great things he will accomplish during his senior year.”

An active participant in SkillsUSA, Juan Paolo was on the team that won the gold medal at the district competition and had the opportunity to compete at the state-level for opening and closing ceremonies in 2013. He also competed in the SkillsUSA local competition for Extemporaneous Speaking. SkillsUSA is a national student organization promoting good citizenship, student leadership, professionalism, teamwork, and recognizes student achievement and excellence.

During his junior year at Eastern, Juan Paolo was selected as the Executive Advisory Committee student representative. The committee is comprised of business and community leaders who advise the Joint Operating Committee of Eastern on the training needs of business and industry. 

After graduation from Springfield High School and Eastern, Juan Paolo plans to continue his computer networking education at Drexel University, where his grandfather studied engineering. His dream is to move to California and work for Google.

The Student of the Month Award is sponsored by Eastern’s faculty, joint committee and the Willow Grove Rotary Club to highlight student excellence, success and service.

Each year 10 students are selected for this honor.