Flagler Palm Coast High School senior Madison Scarcella had no idea she was about to be honored.
Our cameras were rolling when she was surprised with the latest “Dude Be Nice Ambassador” at the school.
The reason this award is being handed out is simple, according to Cheryl Perry, the Student Government Association sponsor. “Your high academic kids get recognized all the time. And your athletes get recognized all the time. But there are so many great kids walking this campus who just do great thing.”
Perry took a handful of kids to a conference last summer where they learned about the national initiative highlighting kids just being nice.
Sophomore Daniel Thomas was the first “Dude” to be honored back in December for what he said was “all of my work I've done in the community and around the school with the Best Buddies program.”
The funny thing about Scarcella's honor is: she received it, in part for her role in programs like the SGA, which runs “Dude Be Nice.”
It wasn't easy keeping her nomination and eventual choice from her.
For Scarcella, being nice just comes natural. But it's not always easy.
“Everyone I meet, even if they're in a bad mood or if they're not the nicest person to me, I go into the situation thinking 'I don't know what they're going through.' I can't sit there and judge them, you know, even if they're judging me so I just, I don't know, I just go about my day and try to be as nice as I can,” Scarcella said.
Students like Scarcella and Thomas just hope to prove that nice guys and girls can finish first.
“I think it really shows that no matter what grade level you're on, you can still make a big difference in the school,” Thomas said.
Organizers hope to include teachers, school staff or anyone in the community who may have a positive effect on students at the school.