Jonathan Vogt with Governor Rick Perry.

Jonathan Vogt is a shining example of the meaning of the word "integrity." Throughout his young life, this 18-year-old has consistently demonstrated integrity in word and deed at home, at school and in the community.

Jonathan grew up in a household filled with strife. His older brother, who dropped out of high school, was thrown out of the house for dealing drugs. His sister was doing drugs, stealing and hanging out with a rough crowd. She became pregnant and dropped out of school as well. Jonathan's parents were consumed by addressing these problems, so it would have been easy for him to fall through the cracks. But Jonathan was unwavering in his pursuit of his goals to excel in school, get accepted to college and, most importantly, set a positive example for everyone around him.

An excellent student, Jonathan consistently ranked in the top 10 percent of his class at Southwest High School. In addition to his regular coursework, Jonathan rose to the challenge of taking several demanding Advanced Placement courses. He has been accepted to Texas Tech University where he will begin his college studies in the fall 2007 as a pre-law student. Jonathan is the first in his family to graduate from high school and attend college. He has been actively involved in a range of extracurricular activities, including, Student Council, the Criminal Justice Club and Track. In addition, he served as Captain of the UIL Speech Team.

Jonathan has taken a leadership role in the Boys & Girls Club's Keystone Club as an officer of the group. Among the numerous community service projects he has been involved with are Graffiti Clean-ups, Beach Clean-ups, mentoring youth, clothing drives and coordinating an Adopt-a-Family project at Christmas. Each Friday, Jonathan and other Keystone Club members prepare brown-bag meals for the homeless as part of the "Sandwiches Under the Stars" initiative.

Jonathan's teachers describe him as both a leader and a team player who eagerly takes on responsibility and new challenges. He consistently demonstrates strong moral character, sound judgment and tremendous self-motivation.

Jonathan's lifelong dream has always been to become a lawyer. He intends to work toward his career goals as well as continue to help his family with the challenges they face. He continues to serve as a role model to his older siblings, and now, to his baby niece as well. In his own words, Jonathan says, "it’s important to me to achieve my goals so my niece has a positive role model to follow."