When it comes to the Student of the Month award, there is no competitive score sheet. There are no trophies or medals awarded.

Instead, teachers vote for students who exemplify what it means to be a Man of Carmel. And this year, the faculty decided to celebrate those students by having a pizza party with all of the Students of the Month

Last Thursday, every Student of the Month in the 2021-2022 school year was provided lunch to celebrate their awards and their hard work not only in the month they won the award but throughout the whole school year. 

From the senior class, Matthew Perry, Ljucas Gricus, Ahmad Raoul, Rocco Mancilla, Edward Lyons, Owen Duignan, and Myles Supurgeci all won Student of the Month. 

Juniors include Daniel (Tino) Perez, Charles Toland, DeAndre Craig, Andrew Sippel, Johnny Dakuras, Adrian Gacek, and Stone Burke.

The sophomore winners are Alec Padilla, Joshua Hinojoza, Tim Daigler, Maurice McLaren, Diego Caban, Damian Resendez, and Brady McQuillan.

Finally, from the freshman class there are Angel Reyes, Ryan Clark, Cooper Kavanaugh, Matt Malloy, Tremaine Dockery, Julian Velasquez, and Leonard Siegal.

Having a luncheon to celebrate all of these students’ hard work shows the students not only that the teachers appreciate their work, but it gives the recipients an extra bit of satisfaction and reward for their hard work in the classroom. High schoolers tend to really appreciate when someone gives them recognition or shows them appreciation for something they worked hard on. “It was nice to have a little lunch to know that our hard work doesn’t go unnoticed,” said senior Lucas Gricus. “Especially because I’m a Senior, it’s nice to cap off the year.”

A lot of times, being a freshman coming into high school can be very stressful because high school is a new experience. So getting recognition for the hard work that a freshman puts in feels very rewarding. “Being recognized for my hard work throughout the year feels really good,” said Freshman Angel Reyes. 

Seeing students awarded for their hard work could also serve as motivation for other students to work harder and do better in class. One of the purposes of the Student of the Month is to serve as an advertisement to others that hard work gets recognized and rewarded at MC, so hopefully the winners’ peers use that as an incentive.

Finishing out the year strong has been heavily preached by faculty to all classes, but especially the senior class. Having a rewarding event such as a celebratory lunch is the perfect way to celebrate how hard they have worked in the classroom. “I have worked hard in the classroom and this lunch was a very satisfying cap off to my hard work,” said Senior Ahmad Raoul. 

It wasobviously going to be a more satisfying celebration for seniors because it is the actual ending of their Mount Carmel journey. But it is still a fun pizza party to cap off the year. “It was a fun way to celebrate our success in the classroom,” said Junior Andrew Sippel. “ It’s nice to see that the school rewards good grades and hard work.”

Rewarding students for their hard work is valued a lot by kids. So making sure they know their hard work is rewarded not only will motivate kids to work harder but also is very enjoyable. And that is what MC is all about, it being hard, but overall enjoying the experience.