Spotlight on: Rylie Biamonte
May 2025 Senior Student of the Month
The Student Council decides monthly student and teacher awards with a specific category each month. The category for May 2025 was “spring athlete” for students and “most deserving” for teachers.
The Senior Student of the Month awards go to two seniors per month who are nominated and voted on by Student Council members in grades 9-11.
The High School Teacher of the Month award goes to one teacher per month who is nominated and voted on by Student Council members in grades 9-12. All Teachers of the Month become eligible to become Teacher of the Year in June.
The May 2025 Senior Students of the Month are Rylie Biamonte and Brady Saunders, and the May 2025 High School Teacher of the Month is Brianne Bello.
Below is a Q&A with Rylie Biamonte:
Sport: Indoor/outdoor track and field
Coach: Jason Richard and Scott Clarke
Q. What are your favorite subjects in school, and why?
A. Band and Public Speaking. I like to consider myself a creative person, and my band class alongside my public speaking class were the most enjoyable. I learned a lot about myself within both of these courses and I am more than thankful for them both. (you can reword this if you want)
Q. How do you balance schoolwork and athletics?
A. For a while, I really struggled with balancing my school life and my sports life, but I realized in about my sophomore year that I cannot be successful in sports unless I am successful in school. They go hand in hand, and you have to want to try.
Q. What position(s) do you play and how long have you played your spring sport?
A. I run the 100 meter, 4×100 meter relay, high jump and long jump.
Q. What has been your proudest moment as a student-athlete?
A. My proudest moment was finally getting over a huge, huge mental block that has been holding me back for the past few years. Learning to trust myself and only worry about what I’m doing in the moment has helped me dramatically in improving my performance.
Q. What do you think makes a good teammate?
A. Teammates don’t always have to be your friends, they just have to be someone who you can rely on and someone who you can go to when you need a shoulder to lean on. Track is a very individual sport, but when we come together as a team, we all support each other in what we do together and individually, and will do anything we can to help each other achieve our goals.
Q. What is one lesson your coach or sport has taught you that you’ll carry with you?
A. Don’t get in your head about little things. My coaches, and I, have said this to me a billion times over the last few years and now leaving my team and transferring to another, I will carry this with me throughout my next four years of track and field. The sport is a mindset, and you cannot let anything get too far in your head because it alters everything that you do and potentially what you get out of it. Bad days happen, and you aren’t your best all of the time, but don’t lose your confidence and sense of known ability just because of one small setback. Life moves on!
Q. What are your post-graduation plans (college, trade school, military, workforce, etc.)?
A. I plan to go to a four-year college in Buffalo, N.Y, called D’youville University to study marketing and minor in digital media.
Q. Who inspires you, and why?
A. From an athlete perspective, my team inspires me the most. Bad days happen and mistakes get made but even so, the motivation, love and push that my teammates and my coaches give me both personally and athletically is what drives me to be my best.
Q. What advice would you give to younger student-athletes?
A. Everything can change in a matter of seconds, so focus on you and what you know and love best and don’t let anyone ruin that for you.
Q. If you could describe your high school experience in three words, what would they be?
A. Difficult, rewarding and worthwhile.