It seems that at most high schools, including EHS, the same people always receive recognition. The athletes, fine arts performers, and students with the best grades take the spotlight year after year.

English teacher Emily Sorenson brought a new tradition from her previous school to EHS to recognize new people; ones who live by the EATON acronym every single day. The Reds have moved into a new building, but that doesn’t change their consistency with engineering new ideas to make EHS a better school to attend. 

Staff members were asked to choose one student each that stuck out to them as someone who lived the EATON acronym on a day-to-day basis, a student who makes them excited to be a teacher and come to work every day.

The EATON acronym is a simple one, but it sets the guidelines that each student here at Eaton High School should follow. The “E” stands for excellence, meaning that students should seek excellence in every aspect of their lives. The “A” stands for awareness, suggesting that students are aware of the consequences, good or bad, of their actions and words. The “T” is for tenacity, it asks students to never give up and to grit their teeth when faced with adversity. The “O” represents ownership. Students are meant to own their mistakes and own themselves, accepting their truths and moving forward with a growth mindset. Finally, the “N” stands for noteworthiness. Students are asked frequently, in regard to this letter, what kind of reputation they want to leave behind when they graduate. 

One of the students nominated was junior Mattea Gurnsey. She said, “It was cool of Mr. Love to nominate me, and it was nice to see that my hard work wasn’t going unnoticed. It’s also cool being nominated because I always tell my link students to be leaders, and being recognized for it shows them how to do that.” 

Principal Jessica Grable said, “I think mostly that we talk about the EATON acronym and those things, but we didn’t really have a good way to recognize kids who really embody that. We wanted to do it in a way where it would be kids that don’t necessarily get recognized for academics or athletics or music or any of the things that we are well-known for.”

On Friday, Jan. 13, the students recognized by each teacher and their families will attend a breakfast at 8:00 am, where they will be recognized by administrators for their great expression of what it means to be an Eaton Red.