Riverwood Student Wins DAR Good Citizen Award

From Riverwood International Charter School: Riverwood International Charter School senior, Atara Zibitt, was selected by the Sandy Springs chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), as the chapter’s 2017 Good Citizen. The NSDAR Good Citizen Award and Scholarship Contest, created in 1934, recognizes high school seniors who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. These students are selected by their teachers and peers because they have demonstrated these qualities to an outstanding degree.

In addition to being judged on academic performance, and school and community involvement, Zibitt wrote a compelling essay on this year’s topic “Our American Heritage and our Responsibility for Preserving It: How Has America Advanced the Cause of Freedom in the Rest of the World?” She also submitted recommendations from two Riverwood teachers. As a chapter winner, Ms. Zibitt now has the opportunity to advance toward a national scholarship.

Zibitt's many school activities include serving as an officer in the National Honor Society chapter, as well as in the Riverwood Choral Department. She is also an involved member of the Model UN club. Zibitt spends six days a week on the Chattahoochee River rowing for the St. Andrew Rowing Club, a passion she intends to pursue when she matriculates at The University of Georgia next fall. Notes Zibitt, “I really am honored and humbled to have been chosen for this award. I generally strive to be a good peer, student, teammate, daughter, sister, and mentor; however, I realize now that I may have overlooked what it means to really be a good citizen. I think with the acceptance of this award, and throughout the process of writing and submitting my application(s), I have learned how to incorporate all aspects of my experiences -- whether that be supporting my boat-mates, driving my siblings to and from soccer practice, or being a Teacher's Aide for younger chorus classes -- to shape myself into the best citizen I can be.”

The DAR, founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women's service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America's future through better education for children. Membership in the National Society is open to any woman 18 years or older who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution.