As the first semester came to an end, the GWUOHS faculty held a schoolwide awards ceremony on Wednesday, January 24th. During this biannual event, students are presented with a plethora of awards related to academic, competitive and participatory activities. One special type of award, which has been tradition for the past five semesters, is the community values awards. Handpicked by the teachers, one student is awarded for their exemplary exhibition of each of the six community values from the mission statement of GWUOHS.
This fall semester, the recipients of the community values awards were Jihee K. (hard work), Trygve S. (integrity), Kay E. (appreciation of diversity), Carter N. (love of learning), Avery B. (compassion), and LiVi N. (high personal expectations).
The recognition with the community values award for hard work is truly humbling and fuels my determination to excel further. It serves as a reminder that dedication and perseverance lead to a journey of gratitude and self-improvement, and I am truly honored to share my story with others who may be navigating similar paths.
— Junior Jihee K., recipient of the Hard Work Award
Science teacher Whitney Keaton, who announced the awards, explained the necessity of acknowledging these students.
“The community values listed in the GWUOHS mission statement are embodied by so many of our students and [that is] what makes our school so special. The students who earned these awards go above and beyond in their academics and the extracurricular activities and we want to recognize that,” she said.
Before disclosing the name of each award recipient, Keaton read out a brief testimonial about the student’s exhibition of the value.
Sophomore LiVi N. was pleasantly surprised to be chosen for the Appreciation of Diversity Award.
“I guess I never really thought of myself as having high personal standards,” she admitted. “Setting high expectations for myself allows me to never settle on something that isn’t right for me. The things I focus my energy on make sense for me but maybe not somebody else, and I am fine with that. I do activities that help make my world a better place because isn’t that what we should aim to do?”
LiVi believes that seeking to do your own best, rather than comparing yourself with others is key to success.
This being her first awards ceremony, freshman Nylah A. found it the experience engouraging.
“I enjoy the variety of awards being given out. I think [the community values awards] [were] a great opportunity for the people getting the awards to really see their impact on people and a great motivator for students to be the best they can be.”
You can still offer your congratulations to the award recipients in this padlet.
