Los Alamos Reporter

LAHS Junior Natalie Aulwes Receives Rotary Distinguished Student Of Service Award

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Los Alamos High School junior Natalie Aulwes, second from left,  was presented Tuesday with the the Club’s Distinguished Student of Service Award by Rotary Club President Vincent Chiravalle, far left. Also pictured are, from left, Sheila Aulwes, Dr. Robert McClees and LAHS history teacher John Frost. Courtesy photo

ROTARY NEWSThe motto of Rotary is Service above Self.  To support this, the Rotary Club of Los Alamos honors nine Distinguished Students of Service in their junior year of high school each academic year.

Students are first nominated by their teachers who are asked to select those who:

  • have given positive contributions to their high school and / or in the community,
  • have a good attitude toward learning,
  • are good citizens, are respectful of their peers and teachers,
  • and have good grades, attendance and classroom participation.

The Club then selects students based on demonstrated spirit of service and exemplification of the Rotary 4 way test.

On April 9th, the Rotary Club was proud to welcome Natalie Aulwes as a Distinguished Student of Service. Natalie has made service part of her life and is also a well-rounded student. Natalie holds an impressive GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society, a Girl Scouts of America Ambassador having received Bronze and Silver Awards, a YMCA Youth Conservation Corps Crew Member, a member of the Bradbury Science Museum Teen Advisory Committee, and a member of the United Way Youth Leadership Team. Natalie is also a member of the LAHS Robotics Club and was a District and State Qualifier for the First Lego League Robotics Team Champions.

In addition to these clubs and activities, Natalie is a student athlete, competing on the LAHS Swim Team and an accomplished skier as part of the National Ski Patrol, Pajarito Mountain. Natalie volunteers over 120 hours annually as part of the ski patrol.

Natalie shared with Rotary one of the challenges facing today’s youth:  namely, encouraging more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Natalie has worked to be a role model by mentoring Girl Scout robotic teams, and has given several presentations on robotics at “Discover Engineering” day events for Girl Scouts. Natalie’s Girl Scout Gold Award project involves using 3D design and simulation software to design a new helicopter landing zone and incorporate solar power at the facilities on Pajarito Mountain. This project is an inspiration to young women thinking about pursuing careers in STEM fields.

The Rotary Club of Los Alamos feels that this is a very worthy effort and commends Natalie on her service to the youth and community of Los Alamos.