At Airline’s 2003 Senior Awards Night, I watched over a hundred students as they were recognized for their high school achievements. There were academic awards given to those at the top of their class and atheletic scholarships given to those with the most prowess on the court or field. There were band scholarships given for musical ability and JROTC awards given to those with a desire to serve.

As I sat in the auditorium, my mind drifted to those who weren’t in the room that night, for various reasons.

Maybe they were the ones who kept the bench warm for the star atheletes, or caught for them during practice. Maybe they were the ones who just barely missed that game-winning catch. Maybe they were just one step behind as they crossed the finish line.

Maybe they were the ones who didn’t have that “magic number.” It seems high school is all about the numbers...36, 4.0, 1600, 240...the list goes on. People’s intelligence, at least to others, is determined by their proximity to the dignified digits. In college admissions decisions, the most influential factors are class schedule, grade point average, standardized test scores and the college essay. For colleges, those are the most important factors: those that most accurately measure potential college success. After admission has been granted, though, how much do the numbers really matter?

In the real world, a very small part of which is college admissions, much more should be considered.

Some students just don’t “get” school. I recently read an article in the June 16, 2003, issue of Sports Illustrated about the famous record-breaking freediver Pipin Ferreras. He grew up in Cuba and attended a boarding school there specializing in sports training.

Gary Smith wrote, “He scraped by in school until his final year, when he and his class were ordered to harvest sugarcane on a weekend when he’d planned another spearfishing expedition. ‘Why am I learning math or history?’ he’d remember thinking. ‘The only history I want to know is my history’...He refused to join the harvest and was expelled.”

Like Pipin, many students just aren’t interested in traditional education. Automotive, culinary or art classes, however, may develop a passion in them that will lead to a lifetime of discovery. Unfortunately, not many others recognize those talents. I guarantee Pipin would not have been recognized at his school’s senior awards ceremony.

I know no one recognizes the artists whose pictures and prose light up their homes, or the singers who, while not Broadway-quality, delight the children in their babysitting care. No senior awards night will ever include the “most hugs for Grandma” award.

Another category of students often overlooked is the students who have the potential to do extraordinary things, but have been harbored by obstacles. Maybe they are the ones in a single-parent home who have to work 30 hours a week to support younger siblings. Maybe they are single parents themselves, struggling to finish school, support themselves and raise a child.

These are the people I want to focus on in this year’s newspaper. I want to make sure that everyone that deserves recognition receives it. This is where I need your help - you the teachers, you the students, you the supporting staff. There is no way the Airline Askalada can hear about everything in everyone’s life, so if there is someone or something that would interest students, let us know! Contact a staff member (our names are below) or drop by F-18 to keep us informed, so we can in turn keep the Airline community informed. I sincerely appreciate all of your help, and know that a better paper will result if more people are involved and highlighted in the newspaper.

All too often, especially in a high school setting, we overlook those lives that don’t fit the “success” society has created. That needs to change, and the Airline Askalada is willing to do its part to help.