All six winners will be honored at annual dinner scheduled for Feb. 27
Published in the December 23, 2015 – January 5, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Marty Cheek
2016 Woman of the Year Sandy de la Cuesta accepts her certificate as Rich Firato and Leonette Stafford applaud. Photo by Mark Fenichel
Three Morgan Hill women received surprise visits from the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce as they were presented with bouquets of flowers, short speeches of congratulations and hugs and handshaking as honorees at the business organization’s 2016 Celebrate gala dinner Feb. 27.
Sandy de la Cuesta found out she is the 2016 Woman of the Year. Sobrato High School student Annalicia Anaya learned she is the 2016 Student of the Year. And Sobrato High School teacher Andrea Kusanovich discovered she is the 2016 Educator of the Year. In the last issue of Morgan Hill Life, we revealed that Jeff Perkins is the 2016 Man of the Year, Guglielmo Winery is the 2016 Business of the Year, and Marian Tankersley is the 2016 Volunteer of the Year.
Woman of the Year
De la Cuesta, a volunteer treasurer on the board of the Morgan Hill Historical Society, was asked to go to an early evening meeting at the History House site called by the group’s president Kathy Sullivan.
At the fake meeting, she privately thought that it wasn’t worth taking the time to get together to discuss a really unimportant matter. Then someone knocked on the front door.
“I grabbed my phone because I didn’t know who was knocking and I wanted to be able to call the police. I was totally oblivious to the whole thing,” she said. “It was dark and late…people don’t knock on the door normally.”
When Chamber members walked in with the flowers and a certificate, she at first thought that another volunteer would be honored with the recognition, never dreaming it would be for her as honoree.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more surprised in my life,” she said. “When they walked in, I thought, ‘Oh, thank goodness, they are going to honor Elle (Weston). This is so great.’ I’ve been wanting to put her name in for a long time but we have a policy on the board that we don’t put board members up. That was so cute.”
De la Cuesta has been involved in the society for 15 years. Member Janie Knopf brought her to a meeting, at the end of the meeting the officers put de la Cuesta on the board. At the end of the next month’s meeting, Knopf resigned as treasurer and the group put her on as treasurer.
“That’s been sort of those surprise stories that we laugh about,” de la Cuesta said. “She set me up, but it’s been wonderful. It’s been fun watching it grow and change and having more people know that we’re there for the community.”
She also serves as the accountant for the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill, serving in that role since 2001.
She also has helped organize as chair or co-chair the Dazzle event put on by Rotary to raise money for worthy causes. This year she will “tri-chair” the event with Rotary Club members Tracy Newquist and Diane Carol.
“Rotary is pretty big in my life,” de la Cuesta said. “I’m an honorary member of Rotary because of what I do but I can’t be active and make the meetings because of where I work.”
De la Cuesta has also chaired in 1994 the Mushroom Mardi Gras wine tent as well as the Centennial Committee in 2006. She and her husband David have been married for 49 years in January. The couple moved to Morgan Hill 32 years ago. She works in Santa Clara for Advanced Radiation which makes high-intensity lamps that go into machines.
“I’m totally honored by this and I feel there are so many people who should be on this list. I’m honored that I was chosen and I’ll try to do the job well,” she said.
2016 Student of the Year Annalicia Anaya with Chamber President and CEO John Horner and Mayor Steve Tate. Photo by Marty Cheek
Student of the Year
The 2016 Student of the Year Annalicia Anaya was asked by one of her teachers to go to the library at Sobrato High School where she learned about the honor. She looked a bit frightened at seeing so many strangers staring at her as she walked into the entrance area.
Chamber CEO and President John Horner told her point blank: “You’re in so much trouble.”
Sobrato teacher Theresa Sage gently said, “Trouble in a good way.”
Mayor Steve Tate presented her with the certificate and Horner gave her the bouquet of flowers as she was told she received the honor of being Student of the Year.
Jordan Atkins, the 2015 Student of the Year and a fellow Sobrato graduate, told her: “You don’t know how difficult it was for me to go to the Interact meetings and not say, ‘You’re student of the year!’”
Following the announcement, Anaya posed for photos with Chamber members as well as her grandparents.
A senior, after graduation she wants to go to college and study sociology for a career doing nonprofit work.
She got interested in doing this while involved in the Sobrato Interact Club, a youth service club sponsored by the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill. She serves as the club’s area director in charge of all the schools in Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Hollister.
She has also served as the co-president of the Sobrato Random Acts of Kindness Club and has served on the Associated Student Body government as treasurer for all four years of high school.
Anaya has applied to U.C. Santa Cruz, U.C. Santa Barbara, U.C. San Diego, and recently found out she was accepted at the University of Portland in Oregon.
Photo by Marty Cheek
The 2016 Educator of the Year, Andrea Kusanovich learns she is the recipient of the honor during one of her classes at Sobrato High School.
Educator of the Year
Following Anaya’s presentation, the Chamber members followed Principal Courtney Macko to the classroom of AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) teacher Andrea Kusanovich. Macko got on the public announcement system in the classroom and made the announcement to the entire Sobrato campus about the 2016 Educator of the Year recipient.
Kusanovich stood shocked in the middle of the classroom as she heard her name in the announcement. The class started clapping in congratulations. Her husband Matt Kusanovich who snuck into the classroom gave her a hug and a kiss.
Besides AVID, she is teaching sociology, marriage, sex and family and is also working part time on the Morgan Hill Teachers Federation union organization. This is her 10th year teaching at Sobrato where she started her career in education.
Her passion for teaching comes from a desire to have every young person reach his or her full potential.
“I think that every student who has the ability and desire to go on to a four-year college after high school should be given the tools and the encouragement to do that. These are amazing kids,” she said.
The best part of teaching?
“It’s the kids. It’s a really stressful job and they are really funny and smart and kind. And that’s ultimately why we all work here,” she said.
Principal Macko said that both Anaya and Kusanovich are well respected by their peers on campus.
“They’re both leaders, they’re compassionate, they’re just genuinely kind people with good hearts,” she said. “When we’re thinking about our students and what we want for their future, it’s not just academics but also going to be positive representatives of Sobrato when they go out into the world. And there’s no doubt that’s what we’ve got in Anna. She’s just a giving person and likable, she’s really likable. And everyone loves Andrea at Sobrato. At the foundation she’s a good teacher. But she’s relatable, she’s funny, she’s really connected with the students.”
