Troy Student Is Safety Patroller Of Year

TROY, MI — Out of more than 26,000 safety patrollers in Michigan, Troy’s Justine Perakis is the best. The Bemis Elementary School fifth-grader recently won AAA of Michigan School Safety Patroller of the Year, an honor the company has bestowed every year since 1920.

Perakis received a plaque and four Detroit Tigers game tickets for winning the award. AAA accepts student nominations from teachers, principals and staff based on their leadership qualities, safety skills, school involvement and citizenship.

As part of the nomination process, Perakis wrote an essay, which read in part: “Being a safety helped to make me a better leader. When I was a safety, I had to be responsible and not get distracted. I had to stand outside for periods of time in the cold or in the heat. When friends walked by, I couldn’t just stop my duties and talk to them.

“I had to keep making sure everybody was walking (not running) and staying safe. … Sometimes other kids didn’t listen to me, and it taught me how it felt when somebody doesn’t do what you say, even when it’s for their own good. I didn’t like it when people talked back to me. It taught me to respect others. It also taught me what it felt like to not be respected. I am still trying to keep myself from talking back to my mom or dad, but it taught me what it feels like.”

For more, go to the Troy Times.

Photo courtesy of Troy Public Schools