Photo Courtesy of Norah Salesevic

Freshman Norah Salesevic’s Missouri Glory Award is above with a signature from representative Jim Murphy. “It was pretty much amazing. I mean, it’s just you deserve [the Missouri Glory Award],” Salesevic said. She added she was really proud of herself after she got the award because she had worked really hard for it.

Norah Salesevic (9) feels her heart beating through her chest as she patiently waits for her name to be called. At that minute, Salesevic was thinking of all the things that led up to this moment. All of her hard work was finally paying off. All those late nights studying, all the stressful days she spent writing essays, were finally being recognized. Finally, Salesevic hears her name called. She walks proudly across the glossy marble stage to collect the well-deserved award, and she holds it with great pride as her picture is being taken. 

Feeling overwhelmed with happiness and a sense of accomplishment, Salesevic was one of 14 of her Oakville Middle School classmates who received the Missouri State Glory Award last April at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. 

“I didn’t even know it [Missouri Glory Award] existed, so I was pretty proud of myself because I did put in a lot of effort into my grades,” Salesevic said, “and I was just really proud of myself for once after putting so much work on myself.”

Salesevic was initially given the award when she discovered what it was.

“So actually it was a random Monday or Wednesday. Just a random day somewhere during March I would say. They actually called everyone down through the announcements…but since in my first hour it was so loud, I actually didn’t even hear my name being called. So I just assumed whatever it was, it wasn’t for me until they had to actually ring to get the teacher’s phone to call me down, too,” Salesevic said. 

Once Salesevic got down to the principal’s office, she patiently waited with 13 other students to find out what they were called down for. Eventually, the award was explained to them.

“The general recipients are people who have excelled academically, mostly, and who have just overall been good students. They’re doing well socially, too, and they don’t have any suspensions. They’re just people who have always been good at academics,” Salesevic said.

The award turned out to be more personal, too, as each of them was dedicated to a specific student. 

“There’s 14 different virtues. I got the one for truth … It says that this is the person who always asks like how, why, when, where,” Salesevic said. “They always want to figure out and get to the bottom of everything.”

Salesevic believes that her virtue applies to her well and describes how she is as a student.

“I always want to figure out things, and I always wonder. I’m a very curious person. I always want to figure out all of the questions that there are that you could ask and any possible scenario or at all in life,” Salesevic said.

To accept the Missouri Glory Award, Salesevic got to skip school and enjoy a day all about her and her accomplishments.

“We had to go to Jefferson City some time in April and it was really nice. You had to dress up nicely and you got a certificate. They called your name down along with other kids from other schools and there [were] a lot of them. But in that moment it just – you felt special,” Salesevic said.

The award was signed and given to Salesevic by a Missouri state representative. Accepting the award was truly a memorable experience that Salesevic had worked so hard for.

“It was pretty much amazing. I mean, it’s just you deserve [the Missouri Glory Award]. It really makes you think that you deserve that award,” Salesevic said. “You’re finally proud of yourself for once after putting so much work and being really tough on yourself.”