School spirit, according to Arapahoe High School national award winner

For Alicia Peterson, it’s all about the kids

BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

School spirit for Alicia Peterson means providing a consistent environment of optimism and belonging for her students, much like what she was looking for when she was in high school. And the impact she’s making is getting noticed nationwide.

Peterson, the activities administrative assistant for Arapahoe High School, is the recipient of a national Varsity Brands school spirit award. Speci cally, Peterson received the 2023 Sta Member Award. Awards weren’t even on her radar until Abby Kuhlmann, the activities director and assistant principal at Arapahoe, broke the news to her recently.

“She was like, ‘Do you want to hear something awesome?’” Peterson said. “‘I nominated you for the Varsity Brands award. Do you want to hear something really cool? You’re a nalist.’ And I’m like, I’ve never even heard of the spirit awards before.”

On June 8, during the Varsity Brands virtual awards ceremony, Peterson was announced as the winner.

Kuhlmann wrote an obviously persuasive essay on Peterson’s behalf, placing Peterson among roughly a dozen winners from all over the country. All are being celebrated for their exceptional, dedicated school spirit and making a real di erence.

A total of $70,000 was awarded across 15 spirit categories, including a $25,000 grand prize for “America’s Most Spirited High School,” which was awarded to Vista Murrieta High School in Murrieta, California. Peterson, who has been with Araphoe for ve years, said she’s not quite sure what her exact prize will be, but that’s not why she does what she does.

Before Peterson moved to Colorado, she got involved by helping out with her daughter’s rst-grade class in activities, PTA work, and other responsibilities. Her daughter is now 28, but her passion in working with children continued, and she never left academics.

Now, in her role with the activities o ce, Peterson wears many hats: helping put on school dances, working games for athletics, managing school clubs, student council meetings, assemblies and more. She has no doubt she’s in the right place.

“ is is like, the biggest honor, other than being a mom and a grandma, than I’ve ever had in my whole life,” Peterson said.

High school wasn’t always easy for Peterson. She admitted to having a di cult home life, but nding refuge in the kindness of one teacher, Brenda Park, who ran the drama department at her high school in West Valley City, Utah.

Peterson had friends that encouraged her to join their drama class, but every time Peterson would get in front of the class, she would break down and cry out of stagefright. But Mrs. Park didn’t let her give up. Despite her nerves, she encouraged Peterson to look for other ways to contribute, making posters, selling tickets, and supporting the program.

For Peterson, she had finally found her place in school, and that was everything.

“I’ve been out of high school for 35 years actually, this year. And I still remember Mrs. Park, pulling me aside and making a place for me,” Peterson said. “It’s so important for me that kids have a place. It could be a club, it could be a team, it could be just a teacher that loves them. She’s the one I remember.”

Peterson said even today, she gets nervous talking in front of adults, but can talk to kids all day long. It’s important they have someone in their corner to keep them going, she said. The world is hard. if

“I just want to have a connection with kids that make them feel like they have somebody. The more relationships that people have, it makes them able to succeed and to keep going every day. It’s hard to be a kid today, but if they have somebody who takes an interest in them and makes them feel like they belong, then they are gonna want to keep going,” Peterson said.

For a full list of the 2023 Varsity Brands School Spirit Award winners, visit the brand’s website.

“I’ll never be a professional speaker or anything like that. I also joke that I can’t sing, I can’t dance, but I can mom anybody. That’s just what I do,” Peterson said.