Xander Castleberry is the Kiwanis Student of the Month (SOM) for November

Ferndale High School senior Xander Castleberry has been named the Kiwanis Student of the Month for November, based on his athletic and academic achievements and more.

Xander has earned a 3.978 grade point average at Ferndale High and is a member of National Honor Society. He said he’s proud of his perseverance in getting his school work finished and handling stress during distance learning last year.

Xander keeps himself busy outside school: he’s a member of the Golden Eagles’ football team and loves to golf as well. He is also a warehouse staffer at B&P Vending, where he’s in charge of ensuring that the correct foods are loaded onto trucks for the company’s drivers to restock.

This school year, Xander helped plan the ninth-grade orientation at Ferndale High School. He said he enjoyed the event, and called it “truly humbling,” as he remembered how nervous he was as a freshman a few years prior.

Xander believes that the most important issue facing the Ferndale community is bridging the divide between people with different mindsets, he said. He knows that this issue can’t be solved with one idea, but he proposed that the city could host events to bring people together, which could remind locals that they share common interests.

After high school, Xander hopes to attend college and then become a nuclear engineer. Eventually, he’d like to develop commercialized fusion energy and create planes and cars powered by nuclear fusion, he said.