As the second quarter begins, marking the third year of the Compassionate Cougar awards, two students have been recognized from each grade who demonstrate kindness to students and staff alike. It was commissioned by Campo Alumni Maya Carrasco and the Student Support and Recognition Board from the Campo Leadership program in 2023. The event was created to acknowledge those who embody empathy and kindness. This year the board selected eight students who stood out for their actions and impact. The winners of this quarter’s Compassionate Cougar awards are freshmen Hope Anderson and Kiran Borman, sophomores Annabel Inzeo and Kirin Kester, juniors Riya Shah and Max Olson, and seniors Caryse Chang and Kedar Khamkar.
In Autumn of 2023, the members of the Student Support and Recognition board came together. According to senior Rodrigo Dominguez, the board head of student support, he was “talking with my board and we were deciding on how we [could] highlight people that go above and beyond at school and outside of school. [We wanted them to] be recognized for the stuff that they do.” In prior years, there was no formal system to recognize compassionate students.. Dominguez said, “there are so many people that do so many amazing things. Maybe it’s not a sport, maybe it’s not dance, maybe it’s not choir, but they’re still helping out people, they’re still going out volunteering, they’re doing other stuff that we felt like should be highlighted.”
The recipients are nominated by other people who fill out google forms. When reviewing the forms, the Board of Student Support makes sure that the nominee not only goes above and beyond in school but out of school. “So usually we kind of see if there’s more, if someone gets multiple nominations…and then we also just kind of read through and just see what ones were really genuine…” said senior Tori Gilbert, the co-head of the student support board.
“I guess just making Campo a better, more inclusive place for everybody,” said Khamkar when asked what motivates him to be so compassionate. “It just makes me feel happy.”
Inzeo advised that “The right thing to do is the right thing to do.” When asked about what her advice for others should be she said, “Be a good person, like talk to others, you know, just be out there.”
The Compassionate Cougar event is a symbol of appreciation towards those that go above and beyond in terms of compassion towards others. The event has already grown from last year, not only doubling the amount of recipients, bringing in the school media, and the addition of other teachers. Looking forward, there are still future plans to grow and expand the event. In addition to bringing more awareness so the awards become something that the students look forward to and continuing the tradition for years until it becomes a much bigger school event. Ultimately, the real message from Compassionate Cougars is that the acts of empathy, compassion, and kindness, do not go unnoticed – they make the difference.
