By: Idris Forgiani

Counsellor Jillian calls it,“More than an achievement.”

The Farmer Who Dared Award is one of the most prestigious awards you can obtain at Wheat Ridge High School, given to those who triumph in the face of adversity and still succeed even though all odds are against them.

The Farmer Who Dared Award isn’t just something you can boast to your friends about. It’s a “Huge achievement,” counselor Benson said, and, “It would give an advantage to the recipient should they choose to let their future employers know about it.”

Choosing who wins the award is a very difficult choice and a very complex process. First

The teachers nominate the student they believe to be worthy of winning the award, then a committee composed of counselors, the senior assistant principal, and Principal Griff all get together and review each nominated candidate and decide the winner. “It’s not ever an easy decision” Benson says.

Although a difficult award to give, it is one of Benson’s favorites, “It shows more than just achievement, it shows a student who’s really had to work really hard to get through things.”

In the past, there have been a variety of different winners of the Farmer Who Dared Award who have won for a variety of different reasons. Benson’s personal favorite winner was a student who had a long commute to school and lived by himself, yet managed to get a high school diploma anyway.

Another winner from the past is a girl who had a severe disability and had to miss numerous days of school because of it, yet still managed to get all her work done and graduate from high school.

The Farmer Who Dared Award is not something to be taken lightly as it represents perseverance during trials and tribulations and values the importance of hard work, especially during desperate times.