Whiz Kid: Wagner Honored for Third-Place Finish

Every week, Patch spotlights young people in the West Bloomfield community who are successful, talented and just plain awesome. We're pleased to introduce this week's Whiz Kid:

Jeremy Wagner

• Age: 17
• School:
• Achievement: Jeremy won third place in the county for "Outstanding Achievement in the Face of Adversity" out of 29 applicants March 31 at The Oakland Press' annual Excellence in Education Awards ceremony. According to WBHS counselor Mary Thomas, Jeremy won on the strength of his 4.0 GPA and involvement in the National Honor Society in the face of his diagnosis with cancer four years ago.
• Key to awesomeness: Jeremy is one of those people who makes those around him better, said Thomas. "He just has that ability to triumph over adversity. He has a phenomenally positive attitude," she said. "He's a senior now and he's getting scholarship offers from Grinnell (College in Iowa) and Wooster (College in Ohio). He wants to study English or journalism."

Do you know a special young person in the community who deserves a round of applause because he volunteers instead of playing video games after school? Or maybe your daughter's science club is trying to challenge the way we think about the energy crisis? Or maybe your son's lacrosse team won its first game in three years? Everyone deserves a little attention, and we want to tell these stories.

So e-mail your Whiz Kid nominations to Editor Tim Rath at Tim.Rath@Patch.com. Please include the name, age, school, achievement and key to awesomeness, as well as a photo. Then come back every Wednesday for our Whiz Kid spotlight; you never know who will be up next.