* Personal: Age 16; son of Presten and Karen Bloss of Lahaina; enjoys musical composition and performance (guitar, piano, vocals), creative writing and running.
* At School: 10th-grade class president, National Honor Society president, Student Senate vice president, Head Master's List, 2010 Academic Leader of the Year, rock band lead male vocalist, cross country, paddling, Maui District Student Council Organization representative, 2009 Sportsmanship Award, two-year "Three Sport Athlete" award.
* Off Campus: Academic mentor for children, summer camp counselor for pre-kindergarten to 4th grade.
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Devon Tyler Bloss
* Beyond High School: Short-term goals are to graduate as class valedictorian and get into a "good" college in New York. Long-term aspirations include possibly pursuing music interests and exploring fields such as environmental engineering or neuroscience. "I'd also like to just 'let it happen' and focus on the big picture first and foremost - being able to support my family one day just like they have supported me thus far."
* What do you think is the biggest problem facing youth today? "For kids around the nation, I believe that the biggest problem is the amount of stress each child has to endure. From my prospective, it seems like from the age of 14 that teenagers are pushed to choose their life, to set goals, to be the best and succeed. Though that is a good thing to have in mind, it seems to me that our society overstresses the ideology of 'success' and, in turn, forces the youth, to not truly find their passion. Over time college becomes their passion instead of using college as a tool to cater to that passion. Youths need to learn themselves first, before they start falling into the 'groove' everyone else expects of them."
Fact Box
The students in this weekly feature are selected by officials at their respective high schools. "Student Spotlight" recognizes students of good character who are involved in school or community activities such as athletics, clubs, student government and volunteer work.
