On Tuesday, Oct. 27, senior Alicia Feyerherm won the Daughters of the American Revolution, or DAR, Good Citizen Award.

The DAR Good Citizen Award is presented annually to a one student at each participating school who displays the qualities of a good citizen, such as dependability, leadership, service, etc. The staff members at Hays High nominated their Top 3 candidates from the senior class to determine the overall winner.

“I had no idea this award existed until I was called to [counselor] Ms. [Suellyn] Stenger’s office,” Feyerherm said. “It’s nice to know my teachers think highly of me.”

DAR is a national, non-profit organization, so it has local chapters across the country. The group promotes education, historic preservation and patriotism, and it also has many projects, like the Good Citizen Award.

“They do so much more than just the Good Citizen Award,” Feyerherm said. “They take on many other projects, like the Benjamin Franklin paper contest some of us competed in way back in fifth grade.”

Whoever is nominated is then given to opportunity to apply for a scholarship granted through the local DAR chapter. The application included an outline of the student’s high school activities, including work experience and community service, an official transcript, two letters of recommendation and a timed essay.

“I was incredibly honored to receive this award,” Feyerherm said. “It’s nice to receive recognition, especially so unexpectedly,”