Easton High Senior, Elmer Pineda, and St. Michaels High Senior, Tyler Murphy, will represent their schools as student members of the Talbot County Board of Education for the 2025-2026 school year. Elmer and Tyler were selected following an application and interview process; they were officially sworn in at the October 13th Board of Education Work Session.
Elmer Pineda is the current Executive President of the Easton High School Student Government Association. He is also President of the Spanish Honor Society and a member of the National Honor Society. Elmer has been on the Principal’s Honor Roll since the 2022 school year. He has received the Rural and Small Town Recognition, First-Generation Recognition, and School Recognition Awards, and was named an Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction by the College Board. Fluent in both English and Spanish, Elmer has earned the Maryland seal of Bi-Literacy, which recognizes a student’s high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages other than English.
A member of the Easton Warrior Men’s Varsity Soccer team, Elmer was recognized as Defensive Player of the Year in 2024, and he served as Captain of the Junior Varsity team in his freshman year. He is employed as a Team Leader and Trainer at Chick-Fil-A in Easton and he regularly volunteers at the Ministerio Misionero de Liberación y Restauración church.
Tyler Murphy is the current President of the Student Government Association, and current Vice President of the National Honor Society at St. Michaels Middle High School. Tyler has most recently received the school’s quarterly Character Award, the Super Saint Award, has also been on the Principal’s Honor Roll, and has also been recognized as an Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction by the College Board. As a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) Delegate in his junior year at SMMHS, he attended a weekend leadership conference in Ocean City, Maryland.
A member of the Varsity Soccer Team and a past member of the Junior Varsity Baseball Team, Tyler’s athletic awards include the Nick Bramble Iron Man Award (Soccer), the Junior Varsity MVP award (Baseball), and a North Bayside Honorable Mention (Soccer). For the past four years, he has been a member of the Saints Marching and Concert Band as a percussionist, and he performed in the school’s production of “Snow White and the Prince” last school year. Tyler has also participated in Destination Imagination, Travel Soccer and Baseball teams, and he has volunteered for the St. Michaels Running Festival. Currently, he is employed as a Dock Hand at the St. Michaels Marina.
“We are excited to have these outstanding student leaders represent their schools this year,” said Dr. Sharon Pepukayi, Superintendent. “The Board values their input and feedback on important issues in our district, and enjoys hearing the monthly reports from their respective school communities. Congratulations to Elmer and Tyler on their appointments to this important role!”
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