Herrin High School is always looking for ways to recognize and showcase good behavior. Starting last year, the Student of the Month award was introduced as a way to accomplish this.
The award of Student of the Month provides HHS with the opportunity to reward outstanding students throughout the school year. Each month, a different trait will be introduced and new students will be chosen for this incredible achievement.
The trait for January was positivity. Positivity is the practice of being or tending to be optimistic in attitude. Sofia Davis (9), Josie Brandon (10), Wyatt Reed (11), and Joella Brimm (12) were the chosen students this month.
Sofia Davis represents the positivity trait for the freshman class. She is heavily involved at HHS, where she is involved in HOSA, FBLA, Pep Club, and Spanish Club. In addition, Sofia participates in track and volleyball. She believes it’s important to show positivity because it “helps others and allows you to encourage them and not bring them down.” In the future, Sofia would like to work in the medical field.
For the sophomore class, Josie Brandon encompasses the trait of positivity. In terms of school involvement, Josie believes that it’s important to be active at HHS because “you’re only at HHS once, and it feels good to be a part of something beneficial to the community”. She is involved in Student Government, FCA, and FBLA and participates in Cheer, Volleyball, and Track. To Josie, showing positivity means “not letting your negative emotions get in the way of supporting others”. Josie’s dream college is the University of Alabama, where she desires to get a degree and become a pediatric nurse.
The junior who represented the trait of positivity was Wyatt Reed. Wyatt is active and participates in FCCLA, which he believes is important because it “helps get your name out there and be recognized”. For Wyatt, positivity means “lifting others up instead of pushing them down and directing them if they need help”. He hopes people show positivity in their daily lives by offering compliments to others and showing them care.
Senior Joella Brimm also encompasses the trait of positivity. She is involved in numerous clubs, including FCA, P7, Tigers 4 Life, Rotary, Book and Cinema, National Honor Society, Pep Club, and Educators Rising. Positivity to Joella means to “be kind, no matter what the situation is”, which is important because “it allows people to have a better mindset about their life when they’re going through a tough time. Joella desires to attend either SIU or NIU, where she wants to earn a degree and become a first-grade teacher, which she says is the “middle ground for students”.
Walt Whitman said it best in one of his famous quotes: “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” Positivity can be difficult to show, especially during the winter season, much less in our daily activities. People who demonstrate positivity and lift others up strengthen our community and allow others to be lifted in the process. It truly takes just one act of kindness to change someone’s day.
