Last updated 9 months ago 
SACRAMENTO, CA - November's student scholar is a pint-sized dynamo of determination who is doing tremendous things to improve her situation in life and to close the achievement gap for others.
It doesn't matter how tall, whether they are bigger, older, Nalee Moua doesn't let her classmates skate by an inch. She is captain of her leadership class through the Sacramento Police Department's Criminal Justice Academy at Kennedy High School. Don't let her 5-foot stature fool you.
"I'm a tough person, I gotta tell you I am. I stand up to anyone I see. Even if you are taller than me," said Moua as she conducted inspections of her fellow cadets.
Her teachers say Nalee doesn't make a lot of excuses.
"Does she have things that are stacked against her? Of course she does. But she doesn't let that stop her. Instead, she says what do I need to do and she goes ahead and does it," said teacher Chris Herner who wishes there were more Nalees in high schools.
If there were, maybe there wouldn't be such a significant achievement gap among kids.
That's because the peer pressure on students to act out is tremendous and the support from the school system often is lacking. When the two combine, what usually does get through to a student is not what a teacher has to say but instead the words and actions coming from other students.
Nalee is speaking to her fellow students by working hard to attend UC Davis. She hasn't made up her mind yet on whether she wants to be a police officer or a physician.
You can nominate a student to be featured as a Closing the Gap/News10 Student Scholar. Student Scholars don't have to be low income, the don't have to be a minority, they must, however, be doing their part to help close the academic achievement gap.
by Dana Howard, dhoward@news10.net
News10/KXTV
