honored

It is a day I will never forget. May 27, 2008, a little over a week ago, our entire school gathered together for what is sometimes referred to as the Senior Farewell Assembly. It is during this time that we say goodbye to the graduating seniors, and certain awards are given to a number of deserving students. It is also when one particular award, The Dr. Alex Atty Student Council Award, is presented to a chosen member of the faculty.

The Dr. Alex Atty Award, which is named after a former superintendent of our schools, is one of the most prestigious awards that a teacher in our district can receive. Well, on this day, I was both shocked and honored to discover that my name would be added to the list of previous recipients.

To be honest, I truly love my job. As I told the student body that day, a lot of people live for the weekend and for the summer. Though I appreciate time off as much as anyone, I actually love the week. The reason? The young people I get to encounter and interact with on a regular basis.

While any teacher can tell you about the difficult-to-manage students, the kids who are a pain in the neck, we can also name–if we are honest and reflective enough–a number of terrific young men and women, students we have gotten to teach and have been privileged to know at a more personal level. To me these students are gifts from God, sent my way for a time and a purpose. Their lives intersect my own, and I hold them in my heart forever.

What an incredible honor it was to stand before these kids, including the very special ones I’ve had the opportunity to know at a deeper level, and to receive this award from them. Wow! Even now, I cannot fully take it in, and I am immensely humbled.

The Dr. Alex Atty Student Council Award will include my name for 2008. The plaque that hangs on the wall outside our main office will actually have Mr. Carmen DiCello on it. Again, what an honor this is. But a greater honor still is the honor that is mine each day of the school year, to rub shoulders with the up-and-coming generations, to converse with the terrific young people God sends my way, to encounter in my travels some very, very special students, whom I will never ever forget. I am honored not only to have received this award but to have gotten to know and love the class of 2008. Thank you for allowing me to participate in your journey. I love you guys!

Mr. DiCello