HARDWICK — Hazen Union School celebrated the 2024 Mensch “Good Person” Award recipients at a breakfast attended by the honorees, parents, faculty and staff on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
In its eighth year, the Mensch Program at Hazen recognizes 12 students annually, two from each grade, for consistently demonstrating the courage to be kind and compassionate and to demonstrate integrity, especially when life is difficult.
Hazen Union 2024 Mensch award honorees and their grades are (from left to right) Ella Luther (7), Sadie Gann*, Garrett Sisk (7), Lewis Lapierre*, Lincoln Hill (9), Daniel Pougnier*, Devin Rathburn (10), Carli Abbott*, Chase Benway (11), Aiden Fletcher*, Madison Draper (10). This year’s honorees unable to join the awards ceremony were Lila Allen (8), Talon Michaud (8), Madison Larrabee (9), Nicole Ducharme (11), Fenton Meyer (12), Cassandra Royer (12). (* notes a previous Mensch award recipient)
Honorees and their grades (* indicates a previous year’s Mensch award recipient.) included grade 7, Ella Luther, Garrett Sisk; grade 8, Lila Allen, Talon Michaud; grade 9, Lincoln Hill, Madison Larrabee; grade 10, Devin Rathburn, Madison Draper; grade 11, Chase Benway, Nicole Ducharm; and grade 12, Fenton Meyer, Cassandra Royer.
“Mensch is a yiddish word meaning ‘a person of integrity and honor.’ A mensch does the right thing, no matter how difficult the situation, is considerate of others, treats everyone with respect, understands actions have consequences, has courage and cares about all humans, animals and the environment,” the school wrote in an announcement of the first awards in 2017.
The awards recognize some of the many students with integrity and honor who consistently contribute to a positive culture at Hazen Union School through their acts of kindness, consideration, cooperation and overall integrity.
The awards help “make it a regular practice to recognize students who consistently demonstrate Mensch-like attitudes and behaviors,” noted the school.
