Area high school principals were invited to nominate a senior that follows Martin Luther King Junior’s idea of volunteerism and service. Kennedy’s Linden Runels received the Service Above Self award and was invited to a luncheon on Monday at the Double-Tree by Hilton in downtown Cedar Rapids. Jason Kline gave a short speech about Runels and what she does for her community.

Runels participates in club and school basketball and soccer along with extracurricular activities, she is involved in National Honor Society, National Science Honor Society and National Council on Youth Leadership. Runels spends time volunteering at Waypoint and the Community Free Health Clinic.

United Way was the previous leader in presenting this award, but they recently stepped down from this poition. The program used to nominate 20 middle and high school students for the award, but recently brought that number down to eight. The program also decided to keep the award open to only seniors.

The schools that participated in awarding students included Marion, Washington, Xavier, Linn-Mar, Prarie, Jefferson and Kennedy.

In addition to the award, the students also get to choose one non-profit organization to which to donate $100.

“Receiving this award is humbling and it is nice to know that the things I do around school and the community don’t go unnoticed and appreciated,” Runels said.