This month’s National Renaissance Student of the Month is Tyler Ulrich from Warrior Run Jr Sr High School in Pennsylvania. Nominator Nicole Morgan wrote:
Tyler became our Student Council President as a sophomore in high school (which was unheard of at the time) but he was determined to make Warrior Run the best place he could and improve the climate and culture for our school and community. In our club, he is the glue… he keeps people together, shows up to every event, and he is always making connections with those around him. Tyler is a leader that helps our students see that being a good leader and making a difference in your school is a cool thing to do! He values connections and finding success with building climate and culture starts with him. For example, he wants to expand the positive climate and culture we value to the elementary school so he makes it a point to maintain the connections he builds during Defenders Drop In for Drop Off on Fridays and personally continues to be present. We handed out positive message clothespins on a Friday and one boy in the elementary school receives a clip from Tyler but it got lost and he became very upset. The little boy’s mom reached out noting how upset he was and how much he looked up to Tyler. The next day, Tyler showed up to the elementary class with a signed baseball for the boy because he knew how important it was to check in and keep connecting with the children in our community. You see this type of thing everywhere you go with him. Tyler is always giving his time to better the school and community yet finds balance with everything he does. Outside of our club, Tyler continues to exhibit the mindset of success in his classes, taking honors and AP level work to reach his personal goals to become a nurse.
What are you involved with at your school?
I have been the President of Student Council for two years, I am a member of the National Honor Society, I am taking all Honors and AP coursework, I am a three sport athlete (Wrestling, Baseball, Football). I also like to volunteer my time to the elementary wrestling program and be an assistant coach and help youth athletes stay engaged in the sport.
What is something you appreciate about your school’s culture?
One thing that I appreciate about my school’s culture is that we have such a small community and everyone pretty much knows everyone. We have a close knit group of students and Staffulty and we grow relations between each other so quickly and we get to maintain those relations because of our close community. All the teachers are inviting and willing to have a conversation with you. I recently injured my elbow, and so many teachers and staff stopped me in the hallways to ask me what happened and that just goes to show how much they truly care about the students at Warrior Run.
What’s a favorite Renaissance moment for you?
My favorite Renaissance moments are all of the collaborations and work that we do with our elementary school. Every week, we go down to the elementary school and we do High-Five Fridays where every kid and sometimes even staff that walks in that building that day gets a high-five from about 30 high school students. To them, that is the coolest experience ever. We make friends with the kids and it is awesome to see the smiles on their faces every Friday morning and be so happy to walk into school. Another one of my favorite elementary collaborations is our Elementary Egg Hunt during the spring. We put a certain color sticker on an egg and we throw them all over our football field and we give the kids some instructions to find the color sticker they need. When they have all the colors, they go to the prize stations and pick their prizes. Lastly, one of my most favorite elementary collaborations we do is we help put on rallies and assemblies for our elementary kids. They absolutely love it, and we have so much fun getting to put on a show and host fun games for the kids. At the end of the rallies, we stand and we give them high-fives on their way out and they all compliment us on how fun it was and how good for a job we did and it is just amazing.
How has Renaissance affected you personally?
Personally, Renaissance gives me the opportunity to be me. It allows me to express myself and give my positive energy to other kids around the school, and it brings me joy to see other kids feed off of it. Most importantly, Renaissance has given me and taught me a set of values that I will always use. Leading by example, being a role-model, being humble, being kind, and including others are just a few of the many values that Renaissance has taught me. These values can be applied throughout your entire life, and they will carry you far!
What is something that helps you feel Better Than Good?
Something that makes me feel Better Than Good is hanging out with my friends or being social. I love being able to have fun with my friends, whether it is chilling and watching a movie or a football game, or going out bowling on a Friday night and getting something to eat after. Anyway I can be out and be social and have a good time makes me feel Better Than Good!
What is something you do to help others feel Better Than Good?
Something that I do that makes people feel Better Than Good is I always make sure to say “Good morning” to people. It doesn’t matter if it is my friend, my teacher, our administration, a custodian, or even a lunch lady. I always am making sure I am saying good morning and I always make sure to have a nice friendly smile on my face. I am a very inviting and friendly person so being able to rub that off on other people is awesome.
What advice would you give to someone who is looking to help others be their best selves?
I would say that one way I maintain a good mindset it by focusing on the little things that make you happy. It could be scoring really good on a test or a quiz, or maybe coming home from a long school day and practice and getting to see your dog who is happy that you’re home. I would say if you spend too much time dwelling on the things that are going to stress you out, you are going to make it worse for yourself. Why do that when you could be focusing on the positive accomplishments you make throughout the day to keep you high-spirited? Tomorrow will come, so focus on the present, don’t dwell on the past or stress about the future.
Tyler will receive a water bottle and a decal in recognition of his achievement.