Lehman High Totem Award winners for 2010 (back, left to right) Trenton Mohle (Wisdom) and Brianna Garza (Pride) returned to the Performing Arts Center Sunday to take part in recognizing the 2011 honorees, including (front, left to right) Michael Lippe and Jerian Delano (Integrity), Abigail Martin and Gonzalo Diaz (Wisdom), and Cecilia Zea and Justin Torres (Pride). The Lehman Totem Awards are the school’s highest honor and identify graduating seniors who have best exemplified the school’s founding principles. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
by JIM CULLEN
Six unique, long-to-be-remembered students have been honored as the 2011 recipients of the Lehman High School Totem Award, an ever-growing tradition that recognizes students who best exemplify the school’s founding principles – Integrity, Wisdom and Pride. Announced at last weekend’s Awards Ceremony, seniors Jerian Delano and Michael Lippe were singled out to represent Integrity, Abigail Martin and Gonzalo Diaz were tabbed for Wisdom, and Cecilia Zea and Justin Torres were honored for Pride.
The ongoing project was originally conceived by Lobo art teacher Debra Flynn, who secured an Education Foundation Innovative Teaching Grant to fund construction of the towering totems that overlook Lehman’s “Main Street” hallway. Flynn and then-principal Elsa Hinojosa established the honor with the school’s first graduating class in 2007 and Don Ruisinger, today’s Lobo principal, encourages its growing importance.
The pathway to the honor begins in the spring when campus staff nominate individuals they feel best exemplify the totem attributes. The large pool of worthy student nominees – usually supported by glowing comments – perhaps serves to illustrate the long-term effect that recognizing those attributes brings. Once notified of their nomination, students then write essays explaining why they feel those principles are important – and why they feel they’re an appropriate representative.
The staff nominations are revealing, as are the nominees’ reflections. One of this year’s nominators described eventual Pride honoree Cecilia Zea as “a bright ray of sunshine on any day,” who they felt exhibited friendliness and kindness, and showed creativity and talent on “any special project.” The same nominator said of Wisdom winner Gonzalo Diaz, “always kind-hearted, polite, honest, caring, and well-mannered.” Integrity honoree Jerian Delano, whose brother Trevor was a 2008 Pride honoree, was described as “able to stand firm and show truth to peers and teachers.” Pride winner Justin Torres drew praise for showing that attribute in himself and others, his nominator adding, “even as a busy athlete, he takes pride in his schoolwork.”
A sampling of student reflections found Integrity winner Michael Lippe assessing, “To me, integrity has to do with honesty, trust, and strength of conviction. It has to do with humility, a set of moral values, and a solid, unshakeable foundation.”
Wisdom winner Abigail Martin noted, “I owe my character to my parents” and for her understanding of “wisdom” nodded to King Solomon and Albert Einstein. Martin cited Einstein’s assessment of wisdom when he said, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
The 2011 Totem Award honorees received their awards, as has become tradition, from their immediate predecessors, the 2010 honorees. The complete list of Lehman Totem Award winners follows:
2007 – Joey Primeau and Alyssa Chomel (Integrity); Jubal McDaniel and Diana Gomez (Wisdom); Zach Coppedge and Kelyn Mock (Pride); 2008 – Cody DeSalvo and Charrealle Robinson (Integrity); Alexis Guadarrama and Jessica Dutschke (Wisdom); Trevor Delano and Lauren Hawthorne (Pride); 2009 – Juan Robles and Chanelle Williams (Integrity); R.J. Hardaway and Shanté Edwards (Wisdom); Victor Martinez and Nicole Morales (Pride); 2010 – Neil Dodson and Delmi Alejandro (Integrity); Trenton Mohle and Meera Day (Wisdom); Jordan Esquivel and Brianna Garza (Pride).
