Feb. 12, 2010

Left to right: School Psychologist Carrie Shapiro with
Schalmont HS senior Karra Mancini.

It takes courage to stand up for what you believe in, and Schalmont High School senior Karra Mancini has plenty of courage.

In recognition of her efforts on behalf of diversity and peer mediation in the Schalmont Central School District, Mancini was recently given a Student Courage Award by the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King Lecture Series at Siena College. Mancini was one of a handful of award recipients selected from middle and high schools across the Capital Region.

“I was surprised,” Mancini said when she found out she’d won the award. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness!’”

Mancini was nominated for the award by two faculty members of Schalmont High School – Carrie Shapiro, a school psychologist, and Michelle Guzek, a math teacher. In her nomination letter, Shapiro referred to Mancini as a “true leader and a successful student,” noting her involvement in the Diversity Club (for which Shapiro serves as advisor) and in other groups that seek to create a positive environment for students.

Mancini said she is committed to diversity and to acceptance for all students, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation or other factors that often divide people.

“We need more acceptance for diversity in school,” she said. “It’s important for everyone to get along.”

During the 2008-09 school year, Mancini attended the Schenectady County Embraces Diversity workshop at Union College, and she is currently training to become a student facilitator for the program. Mancini also attended Siena College’s Students Together Opposing Prejudice workshop. At Schalmont, Mancini is an active leader in the Diversity Club, president of Students Against Destructive Decisions, and founder and president of the Peer Mediation Club.

Mancini said mediation has had a positive impact on the Schalmont student body.

“We did many training sessions on peer mediation. Then we did a mediation at the middle school with two students, giving both sides the chance to talk,” she said. Mancini notes that peer mediation can help deflate tensions that arise from name-calling, rumors and other peer-to-peer issues.

“I’ve noticed a difference in the way things operate here in the high school [since the formation of the Diversity Club and the Peer Mediation Club],” Mancini said, “but there’s more that can be done. Schalmont helping kids to attend these conferences and workshops leads to more acceptance of different kinds of people.”

Commenting on Students Against Destructive Decisions, Mancini said the group exists to “teach people to stand up for what they believe and not fall for peer pressure.” She said peer pressure is among the most damaging forces faced by students, who believe “if they don’t do ‘X,’ they won’t fit in.”

Mancini has made remarkable achievements despite battling serious health difficulties this year that led to her being hospitalized. Shapiro said that just points to Mancini’s glass-half-full approach.

“Her attitude is always positive,” Shapiro said. “She looks at the good side of everything.”

Mancini has been accepted to Niagara University, where she plans to study education.

Read Karra Mancini's essay for the Student Courage Award [PDF]