April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
PROMOTING TOLERANCE
Peacemaking student gets award from Siena
Michala Hendrick, 17, an incoming senior at Columbia High School in East Greenbush, won Siena's Student Courage award, part of its Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King lecture series. She was nominated by three of her teachers.
The award is for Capital Region students in middle or high school who have demonstrated courage by acting as peacemakers, engaging in conflict resolution, standing up against hate and violence and being spokespeople for tolerance.
Michala does all of that at her school, particularly as president of its Ethnic Coalition, but she never expected to be recognized for it.
"I didn't even know I was nominated," she told The Evangelist. "It makes me feel good inside seeing others happy. I do everything I can to help others. It doesn't seem special to me."
Treating everyone with respect and equality is a no-brainer for Michala, thanks to her upbringing and Catholic faith. She said her parents "have always taught me to be kind" and that "there are people worse off than me.
"Being raised in the Catholic Church, I know what's important and what's right. It's always better to help others, especially those who are more needy than us," she added.
Lots of activities
Michala volunteers with her family at the annual Equinox Thanksgiving dinner for people in need and collects food and school supplies for Rensselaer-based Catholic Charities agency CoNSERNS-U. Through the Ethnic Coalition, she leads other students in attending Siena's STOP (Students Together Opposing Prejudice) Conference each year and organizes school-wide events to raise awareness about tolerance and acceptance.
The coalition recently sold bracelets that said, "Together, we are one," and issued a 30-day challenge to classmates to stick with a positive behavior.
That created "unity throughout the school," Michala said. "When you looked around and saw everyone working to think more positive, [it showed] we're all the same and we need to work together."
She also put up posters that read, "Take what you need," with tear-off flaps that featured words like "love" and "support."
The coalition also analyzes the news and discusses "injustices and wrongs in the world," including a much-hyped story about a Utah high school altering students' yearbook pictures because of the way they were dressed.
All about acceptance
"It's about acceptance all around," Michala said of the coalition. "It's just a giant support system, and everyone who walks through the door is loved. It's to open people's eyes and show them [what's] going on in the world beyond your community."
Michala is also known for speaking up when she detects bullying, whether it's direct or subtle.
"If I hear somebody talking about someone else who isn't there," she said, "[I say], 'There's really no need to do that. It's not nice.' Even saying those few words is kind of an eye-opener to people. They usually just get quiet and disperse because they're not used to having people step up to the plate."
Sometimes, people make retorts, "but it really doesn't bother me," she said. "I wake up with the goal to make one person smile a day."
Michala is also involved in the student council. Both clubs meet on Tuesdays, the only day she doesn't work at a landscaping office. She goes to dance class for three hours every night, meaning homework and dinner have to wait until she gets home at 9 p.m.
"I don't sleep," she said with a laugh. "I say, 'You can sleep when you die.'"
She spends more than 20 hours a week practicing several dance styles and participates in multiple competitions a year. She's been dancing for 14 years.
"It's such a huge release for me," she said. "No matter what's going on during the day, I just have my team there to support me. Everything is left at the door."
Fallback: faith
Her faith keeps everything in balance.
"It's always been a constant in my life - something I can turn to when I feel lost," Michala said. Sometimes, "it seems like everything's falling apart. When I just sit and pray and talk to God, it just calms me down. [But] I pray for others more than I pray for myself."
The award-winner is thinking about majoring in broadcast journalism or psychology in college. Her goal for her senior year is to "go out with a bang and leave an impact so that people won't forget me."
The award came with a $500 prize, half of which she donated to the National Kidney Foundation in honor of a dance teacher who was recently diagnosed with kidney disease.[[In-content Ad]]
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