The little things Niskayuna High School students do every day make a real difference in the school community, and 89 students were recently honored for embodying that difference.
Through this faculty-led program now in its third year, the annual EPIC awards recognize students for qualities such as displaying kindness, optimism, having a growth mindset, showing improvement and having an other people mindset. The awards were named after the district’s mission statement: empower, persevere, innovate, connect.
Now led by visual arts teacher Stephanie Palazeke, the awards were designed to celebrate personal character and growth instead of traditional academic markers.
“School is more than academics—it’s helping shape who our kids are,” said Palazeke. “Recipients might be someone who works really hard and shows improvement or they might be someone making a difference by thinking of other people.”
Any adult in the building can nominate one student each year for an EPIC award. Nominations include a personalized message to the student about their positive character. The message is then printed on a certificate and presented to students at a ceremony.
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