Character Counts! High School Scholarship

The New Mexico Broadcasters Association Foundation has teamed up with Character Counts! for the “Pete Domenici Character Counts Scholarship Program”. This program works with radio and television stations statewide to offer Character Counts scholarships to New Mexico students.

Each station has criteria to meet within the New Mexico Broadcasters Association guidelines to participate. Once the criteria is met, the station will conduct their own application and judging process, promote the scholarship and provide 2 tickets for the scholarship winner to attend the awards banquet in Albuquerque. The amount of the scholarship will be determined by the participating station. Applications for the scholarships will begin in January 2008.

For a list of participating stations, visit the New Mexico Broadcasters Foundation website.

What is Character Counts?

Character Counts remains Senator Pete V. Domenici’s most important non-legislative mission. The initiative teaches young people and adults to conduct their lives with the six pillars of Respect, Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Citizenship, Fairness and Caring.

Senator Domenici and civic leaders around the state launched Character Counts in 1994. Character Counts is now part of lesson plans in every New Mexico school district and many independent schools like Navajo Preparatory. Community involvement is a key factor, and there are leadership councils around the state made up of business, civic, and youth group representatives dedicated to supporting character education at school and at work.

Historical Perspective

The Character Counts movement begain in 1992 at a conference sponsored by the Josephson Institute of Ethics. Recognizing an upsurge in crime and unethical behavior, the group sought to create an initiative with common ground and no religious or political bias. The result was the Aspen Declaration and the creation of the six core values, the pillars of Character Counts.

In every community, young people and community groups celebrate what they have learned with Character Counts through rallies, awards ceremonies, and events to help their hometown. Albuquerque is home to the annual “Cool Yule” holiday party where 550 disadvantaged youngsters were treated to food, games, and gifts from Santa in 2007. This past August marked a giant pep rally in Farmington with athletes and youth groups from the Four Corners region treating Senator Domenici to the lessons they embrace with Character Counts. NMAA produced a live statewide webcast of the event.

Senator Domenici explains Character Counts in a most personal way:

“Character Counts helps children especially embrace the differences of their playmates and in their own lives. Using the language of the six pillars for behavior, these children find THEY are treated better. They feel good about that. They WANT to do the right thing. And this creates a basis of self esteem they call on for the rest of their lives.

Character Counts does not make us perfect. Even we adults find ourselves struggling some times to behave the right way. These core values help you do better and correct your mistakes. Character Counts is simply a positive way of life.”