The traditional passing of the Lehman High School Totem Awards from the previous year’s to the current year’s honorees took place at the Lobos recent awards ceremony at the Performing Arts Center. On hand from the 2009 class were (back, left to right) Victor Martinez, Juan, Robles, R.J. Hardaway, Chanelle Williams and Nicole Morales. The 2010 graduating class recipients were (front, left to right) Neil Dodson, Jordan Esquivel, Meera Day, Brianna Garza, Trenton Mohle and (not pictured) Delmi Alejandro. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
by JIM CULLEN
In a growing legacy, Lehman High School’s annual Totem Awards have become one of the school’s greatest and most enduring honors. Displayed high on the wall on Lehman’s Main Street hallway, the names of the seniors judged most representative of the school’s founding principles – Integrity, Wisdom and Pride – are mounted for succeeding classes to see and remember.
Those honored as the Totem representatives for the Class of 2010 were announced at the high school awards ceremony by the 2009 recipients.
Named as the Class of 2010 award-winners for Integrity are seniors Neil Dodson and Delmi Alejandro. Last year’s recipients for Integrity, Juan Robles and Chanelle Williams, made the presentation.
The 2010 honorees for Wisdom are seniors Trenton Mohle and Meera Day. R. J. Hardaway, one of last year’s award-winners for Wisdom, passed the awards forward.
Winning the 2010 Totem honors for Pride are seniors Jordan Esquivel and Brianna Garza. Last year’s Pride award-winners, Victor Martinez and Nicole Morales, were on hand to present the award.
The Totem awards are the outgrowth of a proposal by art teacher Debra Flynn, originally funded by an Education Foundation innovative teaching grant. Flynn continues to oversee the process, which includes nominations of worthy seniors by Lehman faculty and staff and the consideration of a grant committee that reviews both the nominations and the nominee-written essays that follow.
This year’s nominees came highly recommended. Of Alejandro, one faculty nominator said she has displayed “incredible perseverance” and notes she “came to the United States with no English ability and has incredible grades and an inspirational work ethic.” Her award counterpart, Neil Dodson, was described as having “a personal code of conduct that is honorable – and he sticks to it.”
Wisdom award winner Trenton Mohle was tabbed as a “super smart kid who will succeed with his goals in a determined fashion.” His counterpart, class valedictorian Meera Day, received multiple nominations in the category, one citing her possession of “not only knowledge, but wisdom and sound common sense.” Another simply said of Day, an apparently obvious choice, “What can you say?”
The manner in which Pride Totem award winner Jordan Esquivel carries himself was important to one nominator who called him “a stellar community servant.” The same nominator referred to Pride award winner Brianna Garza as “truly motivated to success and challenges herself to reach the loftiest goals.”
