Gilroy Unified honors student volunteers after class of 2024 logs tens of thousands of hours

Superintendent Dr. Munshi opened the recognitions portion of the board meeting by outlining Gilroy Unified School District’s community service requirement and praising students who exceeded it. “Tonight, we honor those students who have far exceeded the community service requirements set forth by our district,” he said.

The district requires a minimum of 80 hours of community service for graduation in a typical year (it was reduced to 60 hours for the class of 2024 during COVID). Munshi said the 54 students recognized that evening completed a combined 13,086 hours among that subset, and he reported the entire class of 2024 completed 76,576 community service hours across their high school careers.

Principals called students to the podium to read names and hours. Anna Bennett, principal of Dr. TJ Owens Early College Academy (GECA), read GECA honorees. Jeremy Dirks, principal of Christopher High School, read Christopher High honorees and highlighted top earners, including Lucas Salas of Christopher High (415.5 hours). The superintendent also singled out a GECA senior read by the principal who recorded 563 hours.

Board members and administrators framed the recognition as both an academic and civic achievement. “The amount of time these students have dedicated to community service, in addition to their studies and other extracurricular activities, is a testament to their strong commitment of giving back to the community,” Munshi said.

The board presented plaques and cords for top earners and noted the district also honors the top 5% of volunteer-hour earners at each high school; the highest earner at each site has their name engraved on a plaque at that school.

The recognitions segment concluded with applause and an invitation for the community to celebrate the students at upcoming senior award nights and graduations.