The very first Titan Pride Award breakfast took place Oct. 28, 2015. A decade later, awards are still being given to recognize students who have demonstrated strong Titan values of being Respectful, Curious, Inclusive, and Proud, according to the Glenbrook South website.

Each semester, students can be nominated by a staff member to win this award, which recognizes students who persevere through adversity, make extra efforts to support peers, and seek to improve oneself and others, according to the Titan Pride Nomination form. Lauren Stump and Kelly Lowery, Social Workers and Titan Pride Award Organizers, plan a breakfast for nominated students. Every staff member receives a form to submit student nominations, with nominations varying from 10-20 students in the past, Lowery said. The next breakfast will be held on Dec. 11 at 7 a.m. in the Lyceum.

“[The students who are selected] come in for breakfast and are celebrated that morning,” Stump said. “The teacher who nominated them stands up and gives a speech in front of their family and the other families.”

It is not just teachers that can nominate students, Stump explained. All staff can take the opportunity to celebrate who they deem fit, Stump said.

“We’ve had security staff, instructional assistants, Titan Learning Center (TLC) tutors, really any adult in the building [nominate] a student that they’ve had a really positive interaction with, and any student they feel demonstrates what it means to be a Titan,” Stump said.

The speeches given by the nominator show why they chose the student and it can be eye-opening for the winners,  senior Alicja Wardzala, winner of the award in 2023, said.

“I cried when I got it, I didn’t know that it was going to be that emotional,” Wardzala said.

Sometimes students underappreciate themselves, Wardzala said. The Titan Pride Awards show them that their efforts are noticed by others. Even though intelligence is not the main factor of a nomination, it still helped Wardzala in her academic perseverance, motivating her to take more advanced classes than she previously had, Wardzala said.

“I pushed myself to try to get into honors classes, and I eventually did,” Wardzala said.

Showing someone that others believe in them helps students feel encouraged to set the path for their future, Wardzala said.

“Students who go above and beyond, who do the right thing, who are supportive of each other, who are leaders in the building, who have demonstrated personal growth or resilience [are] the best exemplifiers of Titan values,” Stump said.