On Tuesday, January 21, the Alameda Rotary Club, together with St. Philip Neri Catholic School Principal Julie Thomas, honored Student of the Month Adelaide Suer and Teacher of the Month Michelle Ybarra. In doing so, Alameda Rotary, the local chapter of an international service organization, sought to honor those in our community who follow Rotary’s motto: “Service above Self.” Given the opportunity to acknowledge members of the St. Philip Neri community, Principal Thomas quickly concluded who the appropriate honorees would be.
St. Philip Neri Catholic School not only has a school-wide Service Learning Program, but each of their middle school students must complete a minimum of 10 hours of service each year. Student of the Month Adelaide Suer was recognized for streamlining the process of verifying students’ service hours by creating a website, with her father’s support, called “Students Who Serve.” Her work solved the problems caused by lost paperwork and memory lapses to ensure that everyone who put in the time got credit for their efforts. Some St. Philip Neri middle school students complete over 100 hours of service individually during their middle school years.
Michelle Ybarra’s superior service as a middle school history teacher and Student Leadership Council Moderator was the basis for her award as Teacher of the Month. In addition to her primary role as classroom teacher and yearbook coordinator, Ms. Ybarra spends countless hours guiding student leaders who plan and prepare important activities and events for the student body, including leading Morning Assemblies daily, hosting the Halloween Carnival and Spirit Days, and providing prayer services and student recognition, to name a few.
Those who were present at the Rotary lunch-hour meeting said they found stories about the honorees’ service, which had gone above and beyond expectations, to be uplifting and inspiring.
Rotary hopes to continue honoring students and teachers of the month at Alameda middle schools throughout 2025.
