The Rotary Club of Mercer Island has named Devin Jones and Gabe Gottesman as its Rotary Islanders of the Month for January.

The Mercer Island High School (MIHS) seniors were nominated for the honor by instructors Chantel Torrey and Joe Bryant, respectively.

Torrey noted that Jones is “one of the most optimistic and positive students I have ever had the pleasure of teaching.”

The founder and co-president of the MIHS Red Cross Club is passionate about solving society’s challenges using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. He spends his weekends working with Stanford University students to improve humanitarian aid in disaster-stricken areas by using AI to identify regions that require immediate assistance and supplies.

On the athletic side, he is the captain of TRIBE, the high school’s ultimate frisbee team, and is an avid wakesurfer, wakeboarder and snowboarder.

Bryant said that Gottesman is “always looking for ways to unite our school and is the rare student who is respected and liked by all of his peers and teachers due to his friendly and inclusive nature.”

Gottesman, who has accepted an invitation to attend Dartmouth College, has been in Bryant’s radio program since his freshman year and currently serves as its senior student general manager.

The host of the “Mercer Island Hall of Fame” podcast series won a national award for best community outreach event for his tribute to coach Ed Pepple. Also, his piece with his grandmother describing how she uses kickboxing to battle Parkinson’s won the New York Times best podcast award.