CL’s Hayden Benham named TCHS Student of Year

Hayden Benham

Hayden Benham, a graduating senior from Canyon Lake, has been named Student of the Year at Temescal Canyon High School. In a year filled with pandemic-caused cancelation of most in-person activity, including meeting together in classes, Hayden endured and excelled in his final years at the school and was named its top student.

Hayden, as the Temescal Canyon Student of the Year, will receive a scholarship along with special gifts provided by the award sponsors at a ceremony on Tuesday. A male and female student from each of the district’s high schools were selected from the various Student of the Month candidates.

Hayden will be heading out to UC Santa Barbara after graduation. His grade point average at Temescal Canyon High School is a whopping 4.489. He is wrapping up a pandemic-delayed varsity baseball season at the school.

Founded in 1996 by Sally Myers who owned the area’s Sizzler Restaurants, the Student of the Month and Student of the Year Program has been a long-standing and prestigious event in the district. The typical Student of the Year ceremony has been a banquet with family and friends in attendance, but, as with most in-person events held during the pandemic, this year’s Student of the Year ceremony will be take place remotely via Zoom.

Hayden Benham leads off of first base during a recent Temescal Canyon High School varsity baseball game. Hayden will be honored Tuesday as the school’s Student of the Year.

The Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce sponsors the Student of the Month Program, which honors students throughout the year from the school district via luncheons (when not in lockdown). From these monthly awardees, the Students of the Year are chosen.

Three other students from Canyon Lake were named Students of the Month. Makayla Allsberry (November) and Allison Bergherm (April) were honored for Temescal Canyon High School. Nicolas Amador (February) was honored for Elsinore High School.

The Students of the Month completed a scholarship application which was administered by the Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce. A committee judged the applications and selected the Students of the Year. The applications were judged on the students’ grades, school and community activities, community service, two short essays about how they have made a difference and how the scholarship will benefit them, two letters of recommendation and information about where they plan to attend college.