Rotarian Vincent Chiravalle presents a Distinguished Student of Service award to LAHS student Cara Gattiker, on behalf of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos as her parents, James and Katherine Gattiker, share the moment with LAHS teacher Kyla Hooker, October 20, at the United Church of Los Alamos. Photo by James Wernicke.

BY VINCENT CHIRAVALLE
Rotary Club of Los Alamos

The motto of Rotary is Service Above Self. To support this motto in each academic year, the Rotary Club of Los Alamos honors “Distinguished Students of Service” in their junior year of high school. 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:

 Is it the truth?
 Is it fair to all concerned?
 Will it build good will and better friendships?
 Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

On October 20 the Rotary Club of Los Alamos presented Cara Gattiker, a Los Alamos High School student, with a Distinguished Student of Service award. Cara is indeed one who has made service part of her life and she is a very well- rounded student. Cara is a member National Honor Society, the Cheerleading team, and Symphonic Strings, where she collaborates with other musicians and performs at school events. She is also part of Student Council, where she was voted senior class documentarian. In addition to these activities Cara has participated in many service projects through National Honor Society, and volunteers with her church helping with religious education and assisting with events and outreach.

Cara has also volunteered with Espanola Humane and participated in service projects through Girl Scouts such as organizing holiday stockings. Cara shared with the Club one of the challenges facing today’s youth namely; feeling disconnected from their community and lacking a place where they feel supported and capable. In her essay Cara describes how she has helped address these issues by taking a leadership role at a local evening camp for Girl Scouts and serving as a delegate at Girl Scout Annual meetings:

Twilight Camp gives an opportunity for young Girl Scouts to spend time outdoors and learn about STEM. I have helped lead younger girls through activities that encourage teamwork, independence, and self-confidence. Being in that leadership position showed me how important it is for younger kids to have mentors close to their age who can model positive behavior. Serving as a delegate at the Girl Scout annual meetings has given me a chance to represent youth voices in decisions that affect our organization. By participating in discussions and voting on initiatives, I’ve been able to advocate for programs that support leadership, development, mental health awareness, and stronger and more accessible engagement for girls. Moving forward, I want to keep using these opportunities to encourage other young people to speak up, get involved, and realize that they can make a real difference in the problems our generation is facing.

The Rotary Club of Los Alamos feels that this is a very worthy effort and commends Cara for her service to the youth in Los Alamos.

When receiving the award Cara was joined by her parents, James and Katherine Gattiker, and LAHS teacher Kyla Hooker, who nominated her for the award. Rotarian Vincent Chiravalle conducted the award ceremony.