This school year, 33 students have been nominated by the Niles West staff and faculty for the You Make a Difference Breakfast. Students who stand out and make a difference to the school or community are recognized by the adults of Niles West and are rewarded. The first breakfast of the school year will be held in the student commons on Wed., Oct. 18 at 7:30am.

The executive secretary of Niles West, Judy Wheatman, who has been running the You Make a Difference Breakfast for a while, has seen this program develop over the years.

“The You Make a Difference Breakfast is where students are acknowledged by the staff and faculty for the deeds they do to make the school and community a better place. The program has been running for a long time. It’s been here before I started working here. I’ve been running it for seven years and I’ve definitely seen the numbers of nominees increase over the years,” Wheatman said.

Freshman Aida Mehicevic is one of the nominees for this school year’s first breakfast and was chosen by social studies teacher Daniel Kosiba.

“I nominated Aida for several reasons,” Kosiba said. “She values knowledge and education. She asks great questions and is always one of the first people to try and bail me out when I ask a tough question, and the rest of the class is hesitant to raise their hands. The only thing I love more than how good of a student Aida is, are her horribly awesome jokes and her great sense of humor. She knows when it is time to be serious and focus, but she also knows when and how to make people laugh and enjoy themselves. Her humor, hard work, and positive attitude make our class and everyone around her better.”

Mehicevic’s positive attitude and ambition are what really stands out to her teachers.

“I feel that keeping a positive attitude in class and making sure I always stay on task helps me stay focused and sets examples for other students in the class,” Mehicevic said. “I think this program can help motivate students to do good in class and throughout daily life if they know they’ll be rewarded for it.”

Kosiba likes to participate in this program every time it shows up in the school year. Finding the good in his students and honoring them is a pleasure of his because it shows students that they’re being acknowledged for their hard work.

“There is more to making a difference than just excelling academically,” Kosiba said. “Our school is filled with so many amazing, talented young people who are noteworthy in so many different ways. I believe this breakfast is a great way to show these young people they are appreciated and worth celebrating.”

This years nominees will be: Darby Chamness, Diane Samon, Nicole Cwiok, Rachel Lupas, Sofija Dekhtyar, Myra Esmail, Hayder Al Lami, Claudia Andrea Adap, Leonardo Cruz, Juan Crespo, Christine Kim, Anna Schafer, Kyle Jatico, Divya Patel, Jordyn Berkowitz, Violet Esho,  Kate Pendavinji, Jannette Gonzalez, Giorgi Agadjanov, Hanna Ibrahim, Vidhi Gandhi, Ella Rousseau, Mehicevic, Trevor Bell, Amar Vojnikovic, Chloe Younthan, Mohammed Hussain, Ryland Narvaez, Quinaya Meriweather, and Daniel Olipas Ramirez.