Three high school seniors in the Hamilton Township School District have received 2025 Unsung Hero awards from the New Jersey School Boards Association and the Mercer County School Board.
Hamilton High School West senior Andrew Fass, Nottingham High School senior La’Nai Odom and Steinert High School senior Alberto Garcia received the awards, which are given each year to students from each of Mercer County’s high schools.
The students receiving the awards have been identified as students who “make outstanding contributions to their schools and communities, but are often overlooked by other traditional student recognition programs.”
Andrew Fass is a lifelong Hamilton Township resident having attended Yardville Elementary, Grice Middle School and Hamilton West. He is co-founder and chairman of the Hamilton West Historical Society for Education and Preservation, which is a newly founded organization aimed at exploring and documenting the past history at West. Its mission is to preserve the history both inside and out of the school for future generations.
La’Nai Odom has studied at Kuser Elementary, Grice Middle School and Nottingham High School. Odom identifies History as her favorite subject.
Odom served as a 2024-25 Hamilton Township School District Board of Education student representative, in addition to taking four AP classes. Odom plans to study political science in college, with plans to continue on to law school.
Alberto Garcia began his education at Klockner, then attended Crockett and Reynolds Middle Schools, and is now a senior at Steinert High School. Garcia enjoys orchestra, playing the cello for 10 years. He plans to study for two years at Mercer County Community College in the fall, then onto Rutgers University for his bachelor’s degree in psychology, then move on to a masters in counseling.
Garcia is a member of the Science National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Spanish Club, Esports Team, Black Student Union and Page Turners Book Club.
“Congratulations to our three Unsung Hero award recipients. Andrew, La’Nai, and Alberto are outstanding examples of HTSD students who work hard, get involved, and make our schools better places for all students. I am proud of each of them for what they have done to receive this recognition.” said Scott Rocco, superintendent of schools.
Alberto Garcia, Unsung Hero Award recipient, 2025. (Photo by Laura Geltch.),
