The annual Distinguished Timberwolves ceremony on May 21 concluded ASB’s new “Beyond the Books” spirit week, recognizing students who demonstrated excellence in extracurriculars on campus.  

The ceremony commemorated students’ involvement in electives, arts and sports, and honored students who received scholarships throughout the year. Leading up to the ceremony, the spirit week emphasized the importance of recognizing non-academic achievements.

“ASB definitely has an understanding that a lot of kids at Northwood put a majority of their value into a grade, a number or a score on an AP test,” activities director Jennifer Petrosian said. “The reality is that you have value for lots of different things, and none of them have to be academic.”

The spirit week included TA superlatives, dress-up days and pancake art, as well as activities during lunch such as bracelet making, kinetic sand and slime. Each day highlighted school community, art and sports to raise awareness for the ceremony. 

“We wanted to celebrate diversity and encourage students to celebrate other students’ achievements in their extracurriculars with lunchtime activities that people can participate in,” junior class president George Liu said. “Oftentimes people are overwhelmed by school, but it’s also important to highlight their work in activities of their interest.” 

To recognize exemplary leadership, club and elective advisors submitted nominations for well-rounded and strong members from their groups. Awards included the Exchange Club Student of the Year and Athlete of the Year, as well as others specific to each extracurricular category.

“It made me feel valued and like I belong in a community at Northwood outside of just school and grades,” said junior Diya Grover, who was recognized at the ceremony for her work on yearbook. 

In the future, ASB plans to modify other Northwood events, as they did with Distinguished Timberwolves, to increase school spirit. 

“The ‘Beyond the Books’ week was part of our leadership training that we do, where instead of having arbitrary events at different times, we try to layer on top of the events that are already anchored into our culture,” Petrosian said. “We’ve been doing the layering in other aspects, but this is the first time we’re doing it for the Distinguished Timberwolves ceremony.”