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Hard work paid off for Macedonia Elementary-Middle School students Travarius Johnson and Zachary Parish who received OWTstanding awards. Blackville-Hilda High alumnus Omari Hendrix (back row, center) presented the awards to the students for achievements on the iReady test. Also pictured are Assistant Principal Chelsea Calhoun and Principal Eryl Smalls.
For the second year in a row, Blackville-Hilda High School alumnus Omari Hendrix proudly presented two students with achievement awards at Macedonia Elementary-Middle School.
The OWTstanding Award was started in 2021 by Hendrix to recognize fifth grade elementary students who did a great job during the first semester of school. It’s a tool he developed to encourage students by exhibiting that their extra effort and hard work is recognized.
Last year’s students were presented the OWTstanding awards assembled in front of their peers. Hendrix said, “You could see the excitement they had on their faces for their classmates. They were given a round of applause by their fellow students and teachers.”
But this year, due to holiday and presentation conflict timing, recipients Travarius Johnson and Zachary Parish were presented their awards, along with gift certificates from McDonald’s and Russell's Pizza, in the office alongside Principal Eryl Smalls and Assistant Principal Chelsea Calhoun. Hendrix said, “The effect was just the same.”
Studies indicate that students' confidence and self-esteem soars when they feel acknowledged for who they are and recognized for their strengths and skills. Children who grow up feeling such support have a better chance of becoming confident, stable, and mature adults with inclinations to model the same behavior for the following generation.
Keeping students involved in school, church, and the community will, as Hendrix says, “certainly produce viable citizens, community leaders, and community partners.” He believes that students will be inspired by people they see doing positive things in the community they live in. “Maybe they’ll want to give back too. I’m hoping that one day people will see this award and add to it or maybe even start one of their own,” he said.
Hendrix added, “The OWTstanding Award means a lot to me because I’m able to give back to the kids of the local school. Hopefully, it’ll give the recipients’ peers some type of motivation to do good as well. People do things and a lot of those things often go unnoticed, and I wanted to show these kids that their hard work and effort during the school year will not go unnoticed.”
Hendrix’s goal is to make the OWTstanding Awards an annual recognition for students and expand them in the future.
