Norfolk District Attorney Morrissey Presents Leadership Award to Norton Youth

District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey presented Norton’s Mary Daly, a senior at the Foxborough Regional Charter School, one of the 23 Peer Leadership Recognition awards given county-wide for 2012.

“The strength and health of school communities derives largely from the students who lead by example,” Morrissey said after presenting the award at his 2012 Peer Leadership Conference, held in Norwood recently. “Good teachers and thoughtful administrators are important, but it is students like Mary doing the work.”

Faculty member Josh Porter submitted Daly’s nomination at the beginning of October. “Mary is the complete package,” Porter wrote, citing her academic achievement, her presidency of the student council, position on the Softball team and her skill in organizing class events, like the Walk for Hunger. “Mary is also a leader in the community. She volunteers refereeing youth soccer games and is an active member in her church.”

The award presentations were made midway through the five-hour Peer Leadership Conference, which supplied workshops and presentations on bullying prevention, dating violence, drug and alcohol use, mentoring and other subjects to more than 150 students hand-chosen to attend from across the county. “We worked to put together a program that might supply tools to the students who are shaping the attitudes and cultures within our schools,” Morrissey said.

The conference was financed with money seized in drug raids and forfeited during subsequent court proceedings. “We are using money earned through bad decisions and dangerous activities to promote good decisions and safety in our schools,” District Attorney Morrissey said.