The period to apply for the FRED senior scholarship ends on Wednesday, April 11 at 3 p.m. The scholarship, worth $750, will go to one senior who exhibits the qualities of a good person, or a “FRED.”

FRED sponsor Andrea Barnes said that in addition to the senior scholarship, the FRED ambassadors also give out four 100 dollar awards every semester to students and faculty who exhibit kindness and compassion.

“Usually the students who get noticed are the ones who are causing a problem in the classroom or the super high fliers who answer every question correctly and make all the great grades,” Barnes said. “The FRED ambassadors try to notice everybody.”

Barnes felt inspired to start the FRED program after reading the FRED Factor by Mark Sanborn several years ago. The FRED ambassadors give out 3,000 goodie bags a year to students they catch doing good deeds.

“Just in the cafeteria keeping the tables clean, that’s a lot of work. And very few times do you think to say ‘thanks for holding the door,’ or ‘thanks for cleaning up this area,’” Barnes said. “There are so many great people who don’t get acknowledged.”

The diverse group of students who make up the FRED ambassadors come from all over the world, including Cuba, Jordan, Venezuela, America, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and El Salvador. The ambassadors said that they enjoy finding and rewarding good people. They also said they hope their work encourages students to respect each other and do their best.

Senior and FRED ambassador Jose Flores Ugalde said he became a part of the program because he knew they did nice things for people and he wanted to help.

“We are very nice people, very outspoken and truthful,” Ugalde said. “I like to go around and spread the love, to make the world a better place.”

Freshman Luis Mata said the FRED club has found success because of Mrs. Barnes’ hard work.

“She’s always very high energy when she comes to school every day. She tries to spread that energy to others, to students, to other teachers as well,” Mata said. “The FRED club is getting bigger because of her, because she’s always making a difference.”

Once the application period for the senior scholarship ends, the FRED ambassadors will choose and interview finalists and reach a final decision on April 18th.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re making straight A’s, if you’re a good person you’re a good person,” Barnes said. “And that’s who we are trying to acknowledge, the good people at Cy Creek and the good people in the community.”