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 Febuary was gratitude. Gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. The chosen students this month were Nathan Jones (9), Kady Clendenin (10), Sidnee Nelson (11), and Emily Hosmon (12).
For the senior class, Emily Hosmon represented the trait of gratitude. She is involved in Band, National Honor Society, Scholar Bowl, FBLA, French Club, Aces, FCA, Math Team and Student Government. Emily feels that being involved is a “great way to find yourself and offers a different perspective”. For Emily positivity means “lifting others up and showing them your appreciation”. Saying thank you, giving back to the community, and volunteering for community organizations are ways she says can help show gratitude. Emily plans on attending the University of Louisville to major in thermal engineering and potentially minor in Japanese or Chinese.
The junior who represented the trait of gratitude was Sidnee Nelson. For Sidnee, she believes getting involved in activities at HHS is important because it is a “great chance to meet people and find who you fit in with”. She is involved in Pep Club, FBLA, National Honor Society, and Student Government and participates in bowling and softball. Sidnee believes that gratitude means to be “grateful for what you have and show appreciation for it” which she says is important because it “shows that you care for what others have done for you”. Sidnee desires to go to college locally and pursue a degree in nursing.
Kady Clendenin represents the trait of gratitude for the sophomore class. Kady is involved in Book and Cinema Club, Chess Club, Drama Club Chorus, Musical, and French Club. She believes it is important to be involved at HHS because it “is a great experience that allows you to be around new people”. Kady defines gratitude as “showing appreciation for people by being kind to them” which she believes is important because “it allows people to know that they have support when they need it”. In the future, Kady wants to start at John A. Logan College and transfer to a larger university to study mycology.
Freshman Nathan Jones received the award for the freshman class. Nathan is involved in Math Team, Scholar Bowl, Student Government, FBLA, Spanish Club, and FCA and is a part of the Track, Cross Country, and Basketball teams. Nathan defines gratitude as being “gracious and thankful for what you have”. He believes people can show their gratitude by “saying thanks and returning the favor”. Looking to future plans, Nathan seeks to go to a college in the south where he wants to study and become an engineer.
Showing gratitude in our daily lives can be challenging, but as demonstrated in the students above, it only takes one small action to change someone’s day. Strive to show gratitude more, and as John. F Kennedy once said, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them”.
