'The Nicest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Me'

Names, Ages: Drew Marino, 14 and Chris Satriale, 13

School:

Accomplishment: Turning in an endorsed check for $1,608.

Key to Awesomeness: Eighth graders Marino and Satriale were enjoying their free period on the PMS basketball court and came across a check made out for more than $1,600, already endorsed.

After showing the check to their peers, the two decided to turn the check into the main office.

"It was the right thing to do," Marino said.

The woman who wrote the check, a Pleasantville resident, was notified of the finding and came to the school to claim it about an hour later, according to PMS Principal Vivian Ossowski, who spoke about the incident during Tuesday's board of education meeting.

"I didn't think it was a big deal, but when the lady brought in the flowers and chocolates, I thought to myself—'We did something pretty good,'" reflected Satriale.

While the pair conceded some of their classmates may have not have turned in the check, Marino shared "our parents and our teachers" taught them to do the right thing.

Satriale said his health teacher, Lois Shillito, has been an especially positive influence on him.

"She taught me a lot with the videos she showed us in health," he said.

Ossowski said when the woman came to the school to claim her check, she told the principal the teens' actions were a reflection of the school.

"I have to say, they do reflect beautifully on my school," she said.

Superintendent Mary Fox-Alter said the two students' "intuitive honesty" was "a wonderful statement about their character, their sense of honesty and doing the right thing."

The woman also said, according to Ossowski, "I have lived in Pleasantville for 20 years and this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."