16 CSRA Students Honored as STAR Scholars

Annie Zhang named overall student winner, with teacher Sierra Mannix also recognized.

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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The STAR Student Program held a ceremony at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Augusta, Georgia to honor 16 high-achieving students from across the CSRA region. Among the honorees, Annie Zhang was named the overall student winner, with her longtime teacher Sierra Mannix also recognized alongside her.

Why it matters

The STAR Student Program celebrates academic excellence and hard work among high school students in the CSRA area, providing an important platform to recognize their achievements and inspire others to strive for similar success.

The details

The 16 students were selected as STAR Students for their outstanding academic performance and extracurricular involvement. Annie Zhang, who has been taught by Sierra Mannix since 7th grade, was named the overall student winner for her exceptional efforts.

  • The STAR Student Program ceremony was held on March 3, 2026.

The players

Annie Zhang

The overall student winner of the STAR Student Program recognition ceremony.

Sierra Mannix

Annie Zhang's teacher since 7th grade, who was also honored alongside her student.

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What they’re saying

“It just means a lot because, like, you know, I think everyone in this room has worked really hard. It was just really nice to be able to see sort of like a culmination of all the effort that you put in, the studying and all the extracurriculars and the late nights and all that. So it just means a lot to have it all just kind of come together like this.”

— Annie Zhang (WRDW)

The takeaway

The STAR Student Program's recognition of these 16 high-achieving students from the CSRA region highlights the dedication and hard work of local youth, inspiring others to strive for academic excellence and well-rounded accomplishments.