Centennial High School student Evan Hernandez is Pueblo Chieftain's Student of the Week

Evan Hernandez, a senior from Centennial High School, is the first Pueblo Chieftain Student of the Week for the month of May.

Between April 29 and May 2, Hernandez received 50.26% of nearly 68,000 votes in an online poll featuring six extraordinary nominees representing Centennial, Central High School, D70 Alternative Learning Academy, Pueblo County High School, Rye High School and South High School.

In his years at Centennial, Hernandez has earned seven academic letters, four soccer letters and two basketball letters. His academic and athletic capabilities also earned him a spot on the South Central League All-Academic basketball team in 2022.

Hernandez also was recognized as one of Chieftain's top boys basketball players as a sophomore and has been named All-SCL Honorable Mention in boys soccer twice.

Here are the other nominees featured in last week's poll.

George Batuello, D70 Alternative Learning Academy

If you've ever attended an open mic night in Pueblo, there's a good chance you've seen George Batuello perform. The self-taught bassist also sings and writes poetry. His poem, "All of Me," was selected to be published as part of the Pueblo City-County Library District's 26th Annual Poetry Contest in 2023. He works a part-time job at McDonalds while working toward graduating from the D70 Alternative Learning Academy.

Brooke Cordova-Delatorre, Central High School

Brooke Cordova-Delatorre is a Central High School student who has recently been accepted into Colorado State University Pueblo's senior-to-direct-admit program for nursing. She played four years of volleyball for the Wildcats, is Central's most recent Winter Formal Queen and is a member of student council. Girl's Cabinet, Newman Club and National Honors Society are among the many other organizations in which she has taken part.

Riley LeTurgez, Pueblo County High School

Riley LeTurgez is a Pueblo County High School freshman with the workload of an upperclassmen. He maintains a 4.29 GPA while taking three honors classes, serving as freshman class vice president, manager of the Hornet girls volleyball team and playing for the boys volleyball team at South High School. He plays both varsity and junior varsity volleyball at South.

Gianna Mirshamsi, South High School

Gianna Mirshamsi has won state championships in audio and video production, as well as in digital cinema competitions while in high school. She has a 3.9 GPA, is South High School's student body vice president and National Honors Society treasurer. Mirshamsi also has volunteered with Lynn Gardens Baptist Church, Junior Achievement and the Steelworks Center of the West.

Emily Whitley, Rye High School

Emily Whitley developed her aspirations to become a nurse while enrolled at Rye High School. Her aspirations developed through taking three college-level science classes and participating in UCHealth Parkview's School to Employment Program (STEP). After graduating from Rye, she plans to pursue a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Colorado State University Pueblo.

Results from the Pueblo Chieftain's Student of the Week

How to nominate a student: The Chieftain needs Student of the Week nominations. Here is how you can participate

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Centennial High School student Evan Hernandez is Pueblo Chieftain's Student of the Week