This year, Owen honored 129 students for earning President’s Service Awards, which are given out for going above and beyond in community service. Of the recipients, 31 students earned the Gold award, 10 earned the Silver award and 85 earned the Bronze award. In total, Paly students have accumulated more than 17,000 hours of community service, according to parent volunteer Jamie Vi.

To earn a Bronze PSA, a student must complete 100-174 hours of service in 12 months; silver, 175-249 hours; gold, at least 250 hours.

Most of the students that received an award performed services under these nine categories: Humanitarian Work, Health & Safety, Animals & Environment, Education, Seniors & Disabled, Food & Shelter, Civil Engagement, Homes & Construction and Sports, Vi said.

In the Haymarket Theater, the students gathered to share their experiences. City Council Member Yiaway Yeh, who was scheduled to speak at the event, could not make it in the end. However, Owen read a statement from Yeh that congratulated the award recipients and expressed the value of community service.

Junior Jillian Chacon, who earned a Gold level President’s Award, completed about three hundred hours of community service in Central America.

“To achieve the award, I volunteered in Central America for six weeks over the summer through Amigos de Las Americas,” Chacon said. “I lived and worked in Costa Rica.”

To many, community service is not only about just earning a President’s Award but also to learn something new.

“Participating in Amigos de Las Americas has made me a better person,” Chacon said. “I learned to be more thankful for everything that I have and all the people that are in my life.”

By performing community service outside of the United States, Chacon experienced other cultures in a different perspective.

“I also made new friends and got to know people that I never would have known,” Chacon said. “Living in a foreign country allowed me to experience a new culture and learn to respect and appreciate foreign cultures. Overall, I got to help people, especially children, and I also helped myself”.

Sophomore Amelia Long received a Bronze Award for teaching windsurfing and putting on children’s plays for a total of 130 hours.

Although in this fall semester a large amount of students have completed 100 or more hours of community service, it still amounts to only half of the school’s standing record of 355 recipients.