A small gold pin on a letterman jacket may not mean a lot to some, but for others, it could withhold a profound meaning. Anyone who has been awarded one of these pins, or a letter for their letterman jacket, would say it represents the hard work and dedication towards the specific activity in which they’re involved. Sports teams put in tremendous time and effort after school practicing or competing in games, but what about other organizations that put in just as much time and effort?

Freedom Fortune 500 is a class and organization at FHS that makes merchandise for sports teams, clubs, classes or even just personal matters. They spend their 80-minute classes designing shirts, sweatshirts and other apparel for the people who order them. They also spend this time organizing the frequent multiple orders and pressing the designs.

“You put so much time into it, why should you be recognized? If not letters, maybe at least a pin or something to show how much work you put into it,” senior Marydeth Feits said, who is also a member of Freedom Fortune 500.

Drama club is another activity that often fails to be recognized for its efforts. Members of drama club and participants of the annual Spring musical spend countless hours after school and on weekends perfecting a three-day performance. Oftentimes, practices begin three to four months before the actual show takes place. During the week before the musical, commonly known as “tech week,” the participants spend their nights at the school from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm rehearsing for the upcoming shows.

“From my experience in musical, we put almost as much time into it as I do with softball. You still have an outcome like any other sports team, so you should be able to be recognized for that. If band gets a letter, why shouldn’t musical or [Freedom] Fortune 500,” senior Trisha Speicher said, who is also a captain of the FHS varsity softball team, a student-signer for Freedom Fortune 500 and a former member of drama club.

Academics are often an afterthought, as well. While scholarships and rewards such as high honor roll and National Honors Society (NHS) acceptances are given out, a little recognition for hard work would mean the world to some who may not have the requirements needed for honor rolls or NHS.

“I think academics should get more recognition. Maybe some kids in school aren’t that athletic. They should still be recognized for what they do in school,” Feits said.

Not everyone in school is going to be the star-athlete of the team. Moreover, not everyone is going to want to be an athlete all together. Although sports are a pretty popular aspect of school, whether it be going to watch them or actively participating in them, some students don’t feel that athletics are their strongest suit or just plain out don’t enjoy participating in them. However, while those kids may not excel on the field or court, they may very well excel in the classroom or a school club.

“Not everyone does sports, so why shouldn’t clubs be able to have something that would resemble a letter? They do so much work,” senior Steven Leasure said, who is a captain of the FHS varsity basketball team.

All in all, many students everyday do things that deserve recognition. Whether that be putting in countless hours and endless amounts of work to the school musical or spending hours upon hours after school studying for an AP Calculus test, it takes a lot of work, sleepless nights and dedication.