GHS CARDINALS ABOVE ALL
Glendale High School Celebrates This Year’s Achievement Above All Honorees
Glendale Union High School District Governing Board members honored this year’s Achievement Above All recipients from Glendale High School, recognizing the educators, students, and community members who bring the school’s “All In” and “Rise Above” mindset to life. Their stories span classrooms, athletic fields, and the wider community, and each reflects a genuine commitment to the people around them.
Teacher Recipient: Kimberly Young
Kim Young’s path to Glendale High School began as a student. She attended Glendale Elementary, graduated from Glendale High in 2008, and studied at Scottsdale Community College before earning a bachelor’s degree in special education and a master’s degree from Grand Canyon University. She spent two years as a paraprofessional with the Next Step program at Thunderbird High School before leading her own classroom. Today, she has 14 years of teaching experience and co-teaches science courses, including Environmental Science, Biology, and Integrated Science.
As a member of the Special Education Department, Young is one of the most recognizable adults on campus. She has served as head coach of the track and field program for 17 years and previously coached freshman and junior varsity girls basketball for 13 years. She also assists with the band, co-sponsors the Gardenology Club, and has sponsored the Senior Class. Her co-teachers, Robert York and Emilee Boatright, describe an educator who devotes considerable time to her students, finds creative ways to help them understand the material, and supports the colleagues who work beside her.
Young earned this award because she has turned her own Glendale experience into a model for how she teaches and coaches. Mentors on this campus once invested in her future, and she now extends that investment to students in the lab, the garden, the gym, and on the track. Her goal is simple: that every student feels they belong at school and takes pride in their progress. That commitment to lifting others is what Achievement Above All recognizes.
Student Recipient: Amanullah Ayam
Amanullah Ayam is a senior at Glendale High School. His favorite classes include Honors Chemistry, AP U.S. History, and AP Computer Science, and he plans to study computer science at a university after graduation. Outside the classroom, he has been a member of FBLA and the National Honor Society for three years. Whether tackling new subjects, joining clubs, or stepping onto the wrestling mat for a season, he consistently embraces fresh challenges with enthusiasm and determination.
His campus leadership includes serving as Vice President of FBLA, President of Academic Decathlon, and Treasurer of the National Honor Society, and he is currently running for NHS Vice President this year. His honors include being an AP Scholar and a two-time FBLA state finalist. He is also a finalist for the QuestBridge scholarship, which could be worth more than $400,000.
Amanullah earned this recognition by meeting each new challenge with curiosity. His AP Computer Science teacher, David Wilson, ranks him among the strongest students of his two decades in education, noting that he pairs exceptional intelligence with humility. AP History and Government teacher Scott Parsons adds that nothing gets in the way of his goals. Amanullah says high school has made him more independent and confident, and that he learned he does not need every step figured out to keep moving forward. That willingness to figure things out as he goes, along with his gratitude toward the people who supported him, reflects what Achievement Above All stands for.
Student Group Recipient: Glendale High School Spiritline
Spiritline is Glendale High School's cheer and spirit program, sponsored by Megan O’Donnell and Joselin Plumlee. Its 12 members are led by Captain Valeria German and Co-Captains Margarita Zarmacona and Kailya Ayers. The group aims to build school spirit, energize crowds, and bring unity to athletic and school events. This year, the team started the student section at football games, giving fans a more organized place to cheer.
The team’s calendar reaches well past football season. Members aim to attend at least one event for every other sport on campus. They perform at the first-day assembly for freshmen, Open House, Future Freshmen Night, and feeder school visits. They host the Junior Cards Camp clinic and performance, attend the junior high cheer camp, and facilitate the junior high cheer competition held at Glendale HS. Their accomplishments include three All-American qualifiers and a Superior rating, the highest achievement at cheer camp. They have been invited to perform at an Arizona Cardinals halftime show, and the team has also been invited to perform in the Thanksgiving Day parade at Walt Disney World.
Spiritline earned this award because its members treat spirit as a form of service. They show up for all of their school’s teams, and they introduce young athletes from nearby schools to what it means to be a Cardinal. The captains describe Spiritline as a team that has grown in leadership, responsibility, and perseverance, and views its success as a shared effort rather than an individual one. By supporting classmates, welcoming future students, and representing the school well beyond its gates, these student-athletes show what Achievement Above All recognizes.
Support Staff Recipient: Emilia Preston
Emilia Preston is a proud alumna of the Glendale Union High School District. A 2003 graduate of Moon Valley High School, she has spent 20 years in the district, building her career at Glendale High School. Along the way, she has held a remarkable range of roles: Media Center Assistant, Attendance Assistant, Counseling Assistant, Athletic Secretary, and Bookstore Manager. Today, she serves as Administrative Assistant to Principal Tanner Linsacum. Both of her children are Glendale HS graduates.
Preston’s work extends well past the front office. This is her second Achievement Above All recognition, following her 2013-2014 award as Glendale’s support staff honoree. Assistant Principal Charise Stevens and Assistant Principal of Athletics and Operations Scott Krumpos both point to her institutional knowledge, her work ethic, and the humor and humility she brings to every task.
Preston earned this recognition because she has become the person Glendale turns to when something needs to get done. Having worked in nearly every corner of the school, she understands how its pieces fit together, and she shares that knowledge freely with students and colleagues. Her evenings and weekends at games and events show how much of herself she gives to the campus, and her own family’s path through Glendale shows how deeply she believes in it. She describes the school as a second home, and the Cardinal community is better for it. Twenty years and two Achievement Above All honors later, Preston remains one of the people who make Glendale High School work.
Volunteer Recipient: Nilsa Casas
Nilsa Casas is a parent representative on the Glendale High School Site Council and one of the most dependable volunteers in the school’s football community. She supports the GHS Football Booster Club with fundraising and event coordination, and on home game nights, she runs the concession stand for the visiting team’s side of the field. She enjoys supporting students, building relationships with families, and contributing to a positive school community.
Her service reaches beyond campus. Together with her husband, Casas operates the Coach Mike Football Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports youth tackle football through program organizing and fundraising. The foundation gives young athletes a place to build their skills, learn teamwork and accountability, and understand the value of giving back.
Casas earned this recognition because she treats every role, large or small, as a chance to show a young person that someone is in their corner. A snack bar shift can become a reunion. Those moments confirm her belief that the bonds formed through youth sports last long after the final whistle. She volunteers without expecting credit, hoping only to leave the community a little better for the next generation. In her steady, generous presence at Glendale, Casas shows that service to students often begins with simply showing up.
A Community Built by Many Hands
This year’s Glendale High School honorees hold very different roles. One teaches and coaches, one is a student leader, one is a team of cheerleaders, one runs the front office, and one volunteers from the stand. What they share is a habit of showing up for others, often without being asked. The GUHSD Governing Board and the Glendale High School community congratulate them and thank them for all they give to the Cardinals.