A fifth-grader at Viking Elementary School, Brody Schneider has been selected as the North Dakota AAA School Safety Patroller of the Year for 2019-20.
The award recognizes safety patrollers who best exemplify leadership qualities and perform their duties effectively and responsibly without incident.
Brody will receive a plaque and $100 gift card, and Viking Elementary School will receive a $100 credit to improve safety patrol gear, according to the school district.
Nominees for the Safety Patroller of the Year submit an essay that describes their feelings about the patrol experience. Essays are judged on content, understanding of traffic safety, sincerity and organization of ideas.
In his essay, Brody wrote about his role as a student leader, the importance of school safety, and how he uses those opportunities to be a role model for other students.
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"My job as a role model has gotten stronger because the kids look up to me and when they need to cross the street, they look to me to know when they can cross," Brody wrote. "Students think I'm a role model because I'm helping them to be safe."
“Brody has been an outstanding student throughout his years at Viking Elementary,” said Jolyn Bergstrom, principal. “He is kind and caring to others and goes out of his way to help students and staff.”
The AAA School Safety Patrol Program, which began in 1920, includes more than 679,000 patrollers in 35,000 U.S. schools.
AAA introduced the Patroller of the Year awards in 2002.
