By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Since 1934, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) have recognized deserving high school seniors throughout the country with the Good Citizen Award and Scholarship Contest.
This year’s local honorees are Aly Aldrich from Otsego High School and Audrey Todd from Plainwell High School.
The DAR Good Citizen Award recognizes current seniors who possesses the following qualities: dependability; service; leadership; and patriotism in their homes, school and communities.
Award recipients are selected by high school staff.
“I’m beyond honored to be named the DAR Good Citizen this year,” Aldrich said. “And earning this award has only made me want to further my involvement and time spent volunteering.”
Aldrich is the daughter of Troy and Jen Aldrich, and she has an older brother. She serves as a class officer, is OHS National Honor Society vice president, is student council secretary and is a member of both the Purple Committee and DC Strong.
“All of my volunteer hours have been geared toward one goal: bettering the community,” Aldrich said. “Whether it is being a part of Van Andel’s Purple Committee or Student Council, every act of service helps.”
Aldrich is also active in athletics, participating in volleyball, basketball and tennis. She has served as a captain in each of those sports.
“By being so involved in the school, I hope to inspire underclassmen to follow a path similar to mine,” Aldrich said. “My goal is to show the younger girls that leading a team may be scary, but it is a necessity if you want to grow.”
Todd is the daughter of Bryan and Leslie Todd. She has two younger siblings.
“Audrey was chosen as the DAR Good Citizen here at Plainwell High School due to her commitment to her academics and the amount of community service hours she completed,” PHS college advisor Brandy Wheeler said.
Todd, whose current grade point average stands at 4.06 and is currently taking four AP classes, has completed more than 99 hours of community service. That includes having a period scheduled in her day to help the school’s English Learner students with their academics.
Todd is also president of the PHS National Honor Society as well as being active in marching band and Quiz Bowl.
Athletically, she participates in swimming and track.
Outside of her many academic and extracurricular activities, Todd enjoys being outside, hanging out with her friends and doing crafts.
As their schools’ recipients of the DAR Good Citizen Award, Aldrich and Todd are now eligible to participate in the scholarship portion of the program. This consists of a personal statement and an essay.
Scholarships are awarded to essay winners at the chapter, state, division and national levels.