The Bethel Park Rotary Club’s December Student of the Month is Bethel Park High School senior Henry Gaston. He was recently recognized at a small luncheon at The Garden Restaurant [4912 Gardenville Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15236].
Gaston is co-captain for the Black Hawks’ boys' soccer team that qualified for the postseason, leading the team in scoring with 12 goals as a midfielder and defender. Henry was chosen as the section Player of the Year and was named to the All-WPIAL first team after his team's outstanding season. He also captains the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Development Academy of the ECNL, a national developmental league for elite local soccer prospects.
Henry is also an exceptional student with a 4.55 GPA. He was recently recognized as a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, placing him in the top one percent of all American high school students. He has also earned the title of AP Scholar with Distinction after scoring a three or higher on at least five AP exams while having a minimum AP average of 3.5.
Gaston is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar in the school’s jazz ensemble and violin in the chamber orchestra. He also serves as the president of Bethel Park High School’s National Honor Society chapter and math club and vice president of the science club.
According to Gaston, one of his proudest accomplishments is his co-founding the school’s environmental club, along with his friend Gavin Hsu (’23). Gaston continues to serve as that organization's president and has helped grow the club to record levels. That group has made a huge difference in the community in less than two years, setting up the school’s first-ever paper recycling program and holding a handful of community cleanup events. They have also partnered with Tree Pittsburgh and the Bethel Park Shade Tree Commission to hold two tree-planting events, one at the high school and the other at a community park.
While he has yet to make his collegiate choice, he plans to major in computer science.
“I had the opportunity to work in a computational biology lab at Pitt last summer, and it further inspired me to want a future career in artificial intelligence research, using the capabilities of AI to help solve some of our most pressing problems.”
The son of Megan and Matt Gaston, Henry has three siblings: Lily (‘22), Charlotte, 16, and Annabelle, 13.
Students are nominated for Bethel Park Rotary Student of the Month by administrators, teachers, students, or community members. They are chosen based on academic achievements, extracurricular activities, civic honors and awards, organization membership, and leadership.
At a monthly luncheon, honorees receive a certificate acknowledging their contribution to their community. For more information on Rotary and its mission, please ask any Rotarians about it or visit bethelparkrotary.org. You can also visit their Facebook page.
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