The Travelers Protection Association Altruism Award presented April 12 by TPA Post L at the Northampton Community Center honors students who have displayed a selfless concern for the well-being of others.

Bethlehem area students recognized were Bethlehem Catholic senior Chad Sodl, Liberty HS senior Brooke Zigmund, Notre Dame senior Michael Santos, and Freedom senior Sean Boyer.

Katrina Fritz, MA, BSN, RN, was a guest speaker at the event and shared stories about her numerous years in the health industry as well as her personal journey through life and what she learned along the way. Fritz thanked Sodl and his peers for their service and dedication to the community and for serving as an outstanding example for others to follow.

Fritz reminded recipients to “always be the best version of yourself, and to accept that that version will change as you learn and grow in life.” She also cautioned the seniors to not let labels define or limit them on their journey, and to find ways to use their talents and bright light to set themselves apart from others. Fritz offered well wishes and career advice for the recipients in their future endeavors.

Annette Zettlemoyer, a counselor at Bethlehem Catholic spoke on Sodl’s behalf, saying, “Chad is a kind-hearted, humble and trustworthy young man who has gone beyond the requirements for community service hours as he is a giving person.”

Sodl began participating in Becahi’s golf team when he was a freshman and became the captain in his senior year. He was ranked number 6 out of 100 golfers for the end of the year Eastern PA conference championship tournament. Sodl has also played baseball for BECAHI during his 9th and 10th grade school years and became the baseball student manager in 11th.

Sodl is a member of the National Honor Society and has also been involved in Key Club. The club’s goal is to provide members with service opportunities and leadership responsibilities. Additionally, Sodl is a Hawk Ambassador as he serves as an exemplary representative of Bethlehem Catholic at functions and events at the school, as well as events in the community.

John Wallaesa, a history teacher at Freedom, nominated Boyer, saying he, “represents excellence in all things and is a wonderful example of altruism in action.”

Boyer was instrumental in getting a program called “Project Lead the Way” off the ground. Through this program, students were offered various opportunities to learn about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (called STEM). Boyer began representing and supporting this program in his freshman year of high school and because of this experience, he decided he wanted to create an educational outreach program at East Hills MS and Spring Garden ES. He created STEM-themed lessons for eighth grade students and taught engineering concepts at Spring Garden ES. He also was part of a team that wrote a grant in the amount of $1,000 to be used to obtain technology to further the program.

Boyer also served as an advisor for Mini-Thon, a program that raises money to fight pediatric cancer. He has met with corporation and business representatives seeking donations for Thon, and under his leadership, the corporate committees raised $10,000 of the $130,000 raised each year. Boyer plans to attend Temple University to major in management information systems.

Mario Lucrezi, the principal of Notre Dame, spoke on Santos’ behalf, saying “Michael is dedicated, honest, kind and intelligent, a good leader, a great worker and most importantly, a caring person. He certainly is an asset to our school and will continue to be an asset in whatever he happens to be involved with at the next level.”

Santos is respectful of authority and to others. He has a positive impact on his peers and aims to boost morale in others. He is also humble and never complains when met with adversity. Santos has served on student council as the executive board vice president and displays a positive role model for the student body to follow. He continues to achieve good grades and has been instrumental in the school’s 24-hour Mini-Thon.

Jeanne Bednarik, a science teacher and Key Club faculty adviser at Liberty, spoke on Zigmund’s behalf, saying she “epitomizes the definition of altruism in everything she does. She selflessly expresses concern for the well-being of others, and we love her for it!”

Zigmund serves as a two-year Key Club president and has displayed such great leadership in her tenure. The Key Club is a program led by students which offers opportunities to serve the community and to build character. The club supports many organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the Relay for Life, Big Brother/Big Sister, Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and many local animal shelters. Each year members organize holiday gifts for several families from the St. Luke’s PATH program, and also provide gifts for the nurses that care for those families in need. Zigmund has inspired others to follow in her steps in supporting our local community.

In addition to her leadership abilities, Zigmund is also a member of the Liberty Grenadier Band. Zigmund will be attending Villanova University this fall.

The TPA Post L in the Lehigh Valley is a national nonprofit organization and the largest post of the Pennsylvania division. TPA also has a Post L Deaf and Near Deaf Trust Fund and they offer “Children Have an Identity” (CHAD) stickers for placement on child safety seats to facilitate child identification in the event of emergencies.