Outstanding Achievements Allow Students to Stand Out

Seniors have the opportunity to become a Rotary Student of the Month and give speeches to the local members of The Hartford Rotary Club.

Applications for the seniors to fill out are provided by the counseling office, the counselors make the applications which contain the questions the Hartford Rotary Club has come up with to best show off the student’s achievements throughout their high school years.

After the applications are submitted through a Google form, there is a multidisciplinary committee made up of an administrator, support staff, and teachers from Hartford, the committee is then put in charge of picking two students of the month for each month, September through May.

School counselor Kari Erickson does not have a direct role in choosing the students of the month, but she is one of the counselors who helps to create the form the seniors receive.

The names of the people on the committee is not public information. “I think that they just want to be really fair and just evaluate what is actually submitted in the applications without maybe relationships being weighed in,” Erickson said.

The Hartford Rotary Club Secretary Ron Schlitt has been a member of the Hartford Rotary Club since 2000, serving as the president, vice-president, and director in the past having a big role in the community of Hartford.

“The Hartford Rotary Club has been recognizing students of the month from Hartford Union High School for approximately 70 years,” Schlitt said.

The students who get chosen for student of the month are obligated to give a speech talking about their families, interests, accomplishments at school, and their future plans at the monthly meetings in front of the rotary members.

“Members of our club enjoy meeting and listening to the speeches from the future leaders of the greater Hartford Community,” Schlitt said. “The students are also presented with a certificate designating them as a Hartford Rotary Student of the Month.”

Athletic director and Rotary Club member Scott Helms believes having this opportunity for the seniors is a good asset that our school provides.

“[They] recognize students that are top in the senior class,” Helms said.

Other schools in the area have some form of acknowledging the student’s achievements through a program or club similar to the Hartford Rotary Club.