Holy Innocents' Senior is Georgia Spanish Student of the Year

Peter Myer, an AP Spanish scholar and senior at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School (HIES), has been named Georgia’s 2014 Student of the Year by the Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. The honor is given to an outstanding student who shows a strong commitment to the study of the Spanish Language.                                                                                                                                   

Gérard Gatoux, a Holy Innocents’ Modern Languages teacher who nominated Myer for the prestigious award, noted the student’s “caring leadership, infinite patience, and love for his peers and passion for the Spanish language and culture” as some of his many outstanding characteristics. “Peter always strives for perfection and excels in everything he undertakes,” said Gatoux. “Moreover, he genuinely cares for his community and its members. Peter embodies what I call a Renaissance man, whose intellect and caring for others dictate his behavior.”                                                                               

Myer, the 18-year-old son of Deborah McCarty and John Myer of Atlanta, began studying Spanish at HIES in 2010. He is now president of the Spanish National Honor Society, a member of several honor societies, and an AP scholar. Myer is also involved with Holy Innocents’ Program for Global Citizenship, and in the summer of 2013 was awarded a prestigious scholarship for a language immersion program in Mandarin—a scholarship awarded after a yearlong national competition conducted by the U.S. Department of State for The National Security Language Initiatives for Youth program.             

Myer, named one of the “Top 20 Under 20” students in Metro Atlanta this year, has performed an array of extracurricular activities, including two coat-and-blanket drives to help the homeless through Atlanta’s Open Door. He has been a leader in helping to obtain tutoring for non-English speaking youngsters through the Sandy Springs Mission, and joined a trip to Costa Rica in 2012 to help expand an existing church and lead a Vacation Bible School for local children.                                                       

He is proud to be an Eagle Scout from BSA Troop 467.