On Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the St. Louis City Metropolitan Police Headquarters, a ceremony was held to recognize the kindness and generosity of the youth. The Do The Right Thing award is meant to give back to the students who have made the right choices in the past or the present.

“The award is something that is done through St. Louis County, St. Louis City and St. Clair County in Illinois where it can be a student that is nominated by a parent, teacher or School Resource Officer; anyone that observes a student doing something that they think is above and beyond,” School Resource Officer Jim McDonald said.

One of the students to be awarded among the 10 out of 100 that were nominated was Lafayette freshman Tayveon Sims.

Sims was recognized by McDonald for the amount of peace and care he brings to Lafayette. Sims received the news through his 1st Hour class when McDonald and Assistant Principal Amanda Lewis came in to announce it.

“When I found out, I was really excited, happy and really grateful for him nominating me,” Sims said.

One of the major points Sims was recognized for was the effort he puts into breaking up fights at Lafayette.

“Twice when I had to break up a fight, he was in the middle of it trying to separate people, not videotaping like everyone else,” McDonald said, “He was stepping up, trying to calm down the situation.”

When Sims arrived at the ceremony, he had a great time and enjoyed the time he had with other students who were recognized for the award.

“The ceremony was fun. I walked in, they told me what was going on and they had Ronald McDonald there, he was doing magic tricks and was amazing the little kids that were there,” Sims said.

McDonald describes Sims as a nonviolent guy, where all he wants is peace instead of fighting.