It was the last day of seventh grade. We were sitting at Final Assembly and awards were being announced. They called the English award, the French award, and the Latin award. I was sitting there, a bit deflated, as I had never gotten an award at these assemblies in my prior four years at Clark. Then they announced an award I didn’t remember from earlier years and it caught my attention: The Avid Reader’s Award.

It was for, as it states, an avid reader. I sat up at the name of it and was a bit hopeful. They explained it was dedicated to Mimi Piane, a retired school librarian from Stanley Clark who passed away on August 11, 2016. I looked around, considering who might get it. Maybe an eighth-grader who read books as often as me? Or this other student in my class who reads a lot, too? So I thought, “Yeah, that award is as good as hers.”

I slouched a bit in my seat, realizing how slim my chances were. After all, it could be awarded to anyone in the entire middle school and I hadn’t even won any specific for my grade. There were multiple grade-specific awards, and not one of them had ever been mine. My hopes were sinking by the minute. So I just sat there and watched.           

They invited Mrs. Piane’s husband, Mr. Piane, up to give out the award and I faced forward again to pay attention to what the presenter was saying. They started describing the person who won and I expected another person’s name to be called. I slouched a bit in my seat but then my name was spoken and I was taken aback. I walked up to the stage, shook Mr. Piane’s hand, and proudly accepted the award. This is my favorite memory from Clark because it was my first award I had won at school and the significance and meaning behind it is really incredible.