By Aleyshka Barbosa

Mr. Sheridan presented Dashani Hendley with a STRIVE Award. Photo by Mr. Williams

On the evening of May 25, Passaic High School’s very own STRIVE club, with the combined efforts of the Lincoln Middle School (LMS) STRIVE club held their annual STRIVE Awards.

Throughout the course of the school year, STRIVE has done a great deal to motivate the student body in striving to do better in school. This ceremony not only motivated students, but gave parents even more pride in the hard work their children were putting in.

Thanks to the hard work from Ms. Jose, an English teacher at PHS and STRIVE’s founder, and Ms. Washington, a teacher at LMS who also an adviser of STRIVE, there have been STRIVE Awards for seven years running.

“It started out as a pizza party in the cafeteria after school” said Jose. The awards ceremony now takes place annually at night in the auditorium, with a reception afterwards.

Over 60 students from both LMS and PHS were presented with a STRIVE Award from a teacher that has seen notable improvement or outstanding performance from the individual student.

“The objective of the STRIVE Awards is to celebrate the hardworking students in our school who are sometimes surrounded by apathetic peers, and to promote a culture of success schoolwide” said Jose.

Assistant Principal, Ms. Romero gave the opening remarks for the ceremony, thanking students, parents, and teachers for the hard work and dedication that they put in to help achieve greatness. Romero also sang a beautiful rendition of our nation’s anthem, which left everyone in the auditorium with goose bumps.

Washington introduced the guest speaker of the ceremony, Passaic’s mayor Hector Lora. Lora commended the students for a job well done, and talked about his educational experience as a PHS student. Lora has a lot of faith in Passaic, and he is very proud of the city, especially the dedicated students of LMS and PHS. He stated that perseverance is key, and if Passaic’s students work hard, they will achieve their goals.

Each student was honored individually. Ms. Schultz, Ms. Jose, Ms. Washington, and Ms. Sciametta called up students and read a short dedication written by the teachers about why the student deserved the award.
Students were awarded for various reasons. Some students started out the year with an F average, and progressed to an A average at the end of the year. Other students changed their behavior and became dedicated to their coursework.

At the end of the ceremony, students, families, and teachers were invited into the cafeteria for a beautiful reception.

The pride that the students, teachers, and families had for the honored students will hopefully encourage them to keep striving for excellence and progress.

Honored student Linzy Reyes said, “Receiving an award made me feel like my accomplishments were being recognized. I hope that other students feel the same way I do so they keep pushing to do their best.”