Students make strong showing at reservation awards banquet

posted on May 8, 2012

Students and families know that the annual Pine Ridge Reservation Student Recognition Banquet is a special affair when they walk in the door.

With music from a hired band, a dinner featuring prime rib, and many attendees dressed in their fanciest attire, the event could almost be mistaken for a prom. To be sure, however, the focus is not on dancing the night away, but rather on paying tribute to the academic cream of the crop.

In total, ten reservation schools had students at the banquet as award nominees: American Horse School, Batesland School, Little Wound School, Loneman School, Our Lady of Lourdes, Pine Ridge School, Porcupine School, Red Cloud Indian School, Rockyford School, and Wolf Creek School.

The student award candidates had been selected by their respective schools earlier in the year, and had gone through various qualifying exercises to see who would be ultimately chosen, including writing essays and taking tests. Depending on the award category, students might also be required to furnish school transcripts, and résumé-type documents enumerating their accomplishments.

The award-winners were selected by a panel of teachers and administrators representing the various different schools, and the selection process was “blind”, as the panel members did not see the different students’ names or schools when reading through their application materials.

Out of the eight awards given out at the banquet, Red Cloud students won six. The winners were as follows:

Eighth grade extra-curricular achievement award: Jacob Cousin, Red Cloud Middle School

Twelfth grade extra-curricular achievement award: Tiarra Little, Red Cloud High School

Eighth grade athletic award: Kobey O’Rourke, Red Cloud Middle School

Twelfth grade athletic award: Tyrell O’Donnell, Red Cloud High School

Eighth grade academic award: Marlee Kelly, Red Cloud Middle School

Twelfth grade academic award: Lyle Jacobs, Red Cloud High School

Since the banquet’s inception in 1997, a total of 132 awards have been given out. Of those, 70 have been won by Red Cloud or Our Lady of Lourdes students.

Congratulations to all of the students honored at the banquet, not just the winners, but all the nominees!

A photo gallery of the awards ceremony can be found HERE.