On Thursday, April 20, Pattonville hosted its 22nd annual Most Valuable Pirate awards ceremony. Each staff member selected a student that they felt impacted their life or the school the most. Staff members nominated students for a multitude of reasons, including musical talents, being leaders, a part of sports teams, conversations had in class, and more. Students were then presented with their MVP medals while messages that the staff member wrote were announced.
Band teacher Anna White chose senior Sydney Suvansri as her MVP.
White said that when choosing someone for her MVP award, she “always tries to think of students that go above and beyond for the Band program. I also try to think of someone who has had a significant impact on others and has left a lasting legacy in the band. I know that Sydney fits this criteria. This, along with her many musical and academic achievements made her my perfect choice!”
Students were not told prior to the event which staff member had chosen them, so students were surprised when it was announced.
Hunter Riley on the other hand, was not entirely surprised that Laura Livesay chose him.
“I knew it was either Ms. Livesay or another one of my teachers,” Riley said. “And I knew Ms. Livesay was proud of how much I’ve developed and changed since last year.”
Livesay chose Riley because “he has had exponential growth this year as a student and a musician. His confidence has increased so much and I wanted him to know that I noticed how hard he’s working and how much he’s practicing to be a better player,” Livesay said.
Riley had a lot of success within Jazz Band and Livesay wanted to honor that hard work.
“He received an outstanding soloist award at the Jazz in the Meadows Festival at Rolling Meadows HS for his flugelhorn feature in our ballad,” Livesay said. “I was so incredibly proud of his performance and it made me emotional seeing him perform with such grace and passion.”
Students were chosen not only for their class participation but for extracurricular participation as well.
Denise Gregario was chosen by her tennis coach, Emily McDaniel.
“My favorite part of it was when I learned who had nominated me and felt honored to receive the MVP award from my coach,” Gregario said. “I was surprised but also grateful that I had the chance to be on stage with her. The tennis games and practices with Ms. McDaniel were my favorites. She was there every step of the way to support me and help me get better. I remember her giving me a hug and some kind words after I lost my game. I was so down at the time, but the hug she gave me encouraged me to play better in the following game.”
Four teachers announced each student with the blurb that their staff member had written for them. One of these teachers was White who was happy to be a part of reading these messages.
“MVP is one of my very favorite events at PHS! I think that my favorite part of the MVP ceremony is seeing all of the students being honored by their teachers,” White said. “The joy in the student’s eyes when they hear what their teacher thinks about them is so special! It was such an honor for me to read these special thoughts this year and I’m so grateful that Ms. Corvera asked me to participate! She did a great job organizing this amazing event!”
For Livesay, hearing all the blurbs was her favorite part.
“I always love hearing all of the teacher’s blurbs about their chosen MVPs and seeing them embrace on stage–it’s amazing to see the impact that our students have on the teachers in this building and vice versa,” she said. “I’m proud to work at school with such an amazing sense of community.”
After the ceremony, students and staff were invited to a dinner to celebrate and end the ceremony.