LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Four outstanding students from Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School honored


2023 Good Character Award Winners, from left: JT Goett, Fatima Ghias, Flore Levesque and Riya Shah pictured with JM principal Mike Plant, Mayor Renata Sos, Rotary President Dan Herbert and Rotary Youth Services chair, Bob Marino. Photo provided

Fatima Ghias, Joseph Goett, Flore Levesque and Riya Shah, all students at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School in Moraga, were honored for their exceptional character on March 8 at a school convocation sponsored by the Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Club. School administrators, family members, friends and Rotarians were in attendance to celebrate the students' awards.

Moraga Mayor Renata Sos and Rotary President Daniel Herbert presented the honors, including a commendation and cash award for each student. Teachers, counselors, and staff at the school were asked to submit nominations of students who, in their actions and deportment, exhibited the Rotary Club values of Truthfulness, Fairness, Kindness, and Service to Others. In his brief remarks at the ceremony, Dr. Robert Marino, Lamorinda Sunrise Youth Services Committee Chair, noted that while academic and athletic accomplishments are key for success in the world, only young people with upstanding character will change our world for the better. Dr. Marino noted that "Character can be described as the good things we do when no one is looking."

Nominating faculty related multiple instances for each of these students in which they were observed helping and encouraging their fellow students and treating those they encountered at the school with sincere respect. The Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Club hopes to make this event annual. They also support the Leslie Cary Wellness Center at the school on an ongoing basis.