Students from all grade levels gathered at the bottom of the amphitheater on Nov. 1 to watch the first Clark student-of-the-month awards ceremony. 

One student from each grade level received an award based on their outstanding performance in demonstrating purpose, ownership, work ethic, empathy, and responsibility (POWER) in and out of the classroom. Each month correlates to one of the POWER skills. This month, teachers nominated students whom they thought deserving of the award and wrote a description of why they believed the student showed purpose in their education. 

ASB students then chose from the nominees without bias, as names were not attached to the descriptions. The students chosen for the month of October were freshman Emil Fesdekjian, sophomore Nina Simonyan, junior Anush Apinyan and senior Tanya Yarian. 

Apinyan said that she did not know about the new student of the month system until she was called to the office and Senior Administrative Secretary Susan Lockhart told her that she got student of the month. 

During the ceremony, Apinyan said that she felt both nervous and excited to receive an award. Apinyan said that she was thankful that the hard work you do pays off in the end because staff and teachers actually recognize you for your hard work. 

“Anush is a very organized and hardworking student,” said junior Anaida Haroutiunian. “Her motivation, creativity, positive mindset and many other qualities make her a student that stands out.”

For some students, it is a daily struggle to come to school, but Apinyan believes that school is just a few hours in a day that you’re supposed to devote yourself to doing work in order to learn something for your future. 

By awarding students for their positive behavior,  teachers hope that other students are encouraged to demonstrate positive working habits as well. “There is research behind reinforcing positive behavior by recognizing students who are doing the right thing,” said history teacher Patrick Davarhanian. 

Each month there will be a new opportunity for students to show their positive work habits and possibly recognized for demonstrating POWER.