There were many staff members at Wayland High School that took notice of Noah Spiewak. He was very involved in the school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club (GSA), a student-centered club providing a safe space for LGBTQ students and their allies to meet regularly and participate in a variety of activities. Outside of school he contributed to ServeWayland, where he helped connect students looking for places to serve their community with nonprofit organizations that were looking for volunteers.
Spanish teacher Alaina Ghetti thought Spiewak, a junior, would be an excellent candidate for the John P. Garrahan Leadership in Diversity Award, so she asked him if he would mind being nominated. Less than two months later, Spiewak received an email informing him that he was one of 12 high school students from MetroWest to receive the honor.
“I felt very lucky,” he said
Principal Allyson Mizoguchi witnessed all of the work that Spiewak was doing at school and praised his efforts. She especially noted his advocacy and his thoughtful voice in GSA.
“Noah is a leader through his determination and his words and actions,” Mizoguchi said. “He is a true ally to individuals and communities whose voices need to be uplifted.”
Spiewak has been very active in his work centered around diversity. This year he serves as president of GSA and he was the vice president of the club during last year.
“This award was created by the Alliance for MetroWest Unity, a club that has been advocating for equity and inclusion for decades,” he said. “This is the 34th time they’ve granted this award to people (and not organizations).”
Spiewak said working on his acceptance speech gave him some additional work on top of his studies, but also provided time to reflect upon how proud he was of himself and his community, and that’s when winning really started to sink in. The honorees were feted at a prayer breakfast at Verve Restaurant in Natick on May 1.
Spiewak’s efforts have been instrumental in creating a sense of belonging for all at WHS. He did admit that he may tone down his work in his senior year.
“Next fall, I’m planning mainly on focusing on academics,” he said. “I’m going into my senior year with three AP classes along with the college application process. I’m excited to see what my future holds.”
