Palm Springs Police honors local students with ‘Do The Right Thing’ awards

The Palm Springs Police Department honored a group of local students in its first "Do The Right Thing" awards ceremony.

If you would like to nominate a student for the "Do The Right Thing" award, visit: https://kesq.com/do-the-right-thing/

Recognizing and rewarding school-age youths in the Greater Palm Springs area for their positive attitude, behavior, and accomplishments.

Do The Right Thing endeavors to:
- build self-esteem in youngsters by reinforcing socially-desirable behavior;
- demonstrate that good kids are newsworthy and establish them as role models for their peers;
- foster positive relationships between young people and their local law enforcement officers.

The following students were honored Wednesday along with the nomination letter for each:

• Escarlett Ramirez Orellana - Cabot Yerxa Elementary School
  • "Escarlett has grown into an amazing 5th grader. She is an exceptionally engaging, interesting, warm student with tremendous strength of character and integrity. Escarlett always asks for ways to improve her knowledge, taking charge of her learning journey. She improved in both reading and math. She is a member of the Student Council and Yearbook Club. She devotes countless hours helping the community and her school. She also participated on the 5th-grade soccer team. She always offers a helping hand to myself or any student in class. Her effort never stops! She continues to soar - a well rounded student."

• Landon Kuykendall - Mt. Jacinto High School
  • "Landon is a truly amazing young man. He came to us credit deficient and earned a 4.0 each quarter while at Mt. San Jacinto High School. He is one of the most mature students to come through our doors. It was surprising to see that he was credit deficient considering how incredibly responsible & reliable he proved to be while here at MSJ. However, COVID really affected Landon in his early high school years. He fell extremely behind during COVID with the independent learning & then gave up altogether academically. When he started at Mt. San Jacinto High School, he truly took advantage of his second chance and the opportunity to get caught up to earn his diploma. Landon excelled tremendously. He had worked a few Heating & Air Conditioning jobs with a family friend, so when he learned about our Heating & Air Conditioning program at Mt. San Jacinto High School, he was excited to sign up for the classes. He has excelled in HVAC & is a standout according to the instructor. He completed two HVAC classes while enrolled at MSJ. He graduated high school early this December and continued on at College of the Desert as an early college enrollee. He will be done with 5 HVAC classes by the end of this school year & his instructor will be helping him obtain a job in HVAC. Mt. San Jacinto High School is beyond proud of Landon & watching him live his goals."

• David Anacan - Palm Springs High School
  • "As club adviser to the Palm Springs High School Rotary Interact club I would like to nominate David Anacan for the “Do The Right Thing” award. The Interact club is a service club comprising of young people ages 12 to 18. It is an extension of the Rotary Club of Palm Springs. David is president of this year’s Interact club. Under David’s leadership he is responsible for a tutoring program that connects technology challenged older adults with civic minded tech savvy young people. Biweekly, older adults participate in an hour long individualized “tutorial” session with High School Interact club members. Tutors address practical and social question; How do I increase the font size on my iPhone? How can I text my grandchildren? David has led his club in a food drive for the less fortunate in our community, A blood drive, volunteered at the Tour de Palm Springs, and participated in a food packaging project that benefited Palm Springs unified School District low income families. David shows a great sense of community service and has a profound commitment to social and civic issues. He takes responsibility seriously and has earned the respect of his peers. It is indeed my pleasure to nominate David Anacan for the “Do The Right Thing” award."