BHHS senior named state Student of the Year

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Bloomfield Hills High School student Joseph Dillon recently received the highest honor at the Michigan Association of Student Councils and Honor Societies Student Leadership State Conference in Grand Rapids. Dillon was named the 2024 MASC/MAHS Student of the Year. He was nominated by his student leadership classmates.

“I was super surprised and very happy and humbled to have won that award,” Dillon said.

Dillon is a senior, and throughout his middle and high school experience, he has gained leadership experience through his involvement with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

He has been involved with JDRF since he was in seventh grade and became a youth ambassador after applying in eighth grade. As a part of JDRF, Dillon has participated in events and shared his story with the community.

“In terms of diabetes, it was something I looked at as a setback for so long. I was diagnosed in fifth grade,” Dillon said.

However, he shared that the JDRF helped him change his mindset.

“JDRF helped me realize that diabetes wasn’t necessarily a setback. It was more of a privilege, and I had something people don’t, and I can use it to expand greater good into the community and help other people out, because there’s other people that are in the same shoes,” Dillon said.

Dillon has been involved with student leadership at BHHS since he was a sophomore. When he was just getting started with student leadership at the school, he hit the ground running with the proposal for a three-on-three basketball tournament called Lucky Buckets. All proceeds of the event went to JDRF.

During COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, Dillon said, he developed a passion for photography, videography and editing. This led him to fulfill the technology advisor role at BHHS, which entailed running social media pages and creating short video content. At the end of his sophomore year, he decided to expand his skills even more and ran for an executive board tech advisor position.

Through this position he acts as a role model for younger students, and he teaches younger kids learning the role.

Krista Laliberte, BHHS’s interim associate principal, instructional coach, English teacher, student leadership advisor and National Honors Society advisor, has worked with Dillon while he has been in student leadership.

Laliberte said that when Dillon joined student leadership, his excitement for fundraising and leadership was “a breath of fresh air.”

“He’s always excited. He’s always ready to do the next thing, but most importantly, he’s always positive. Even when the worst things are happening, he finds the bright side of them,” Laliberte said. “Younger kids look up to him. Teachers all adore him. They all love having him in class.”

Laliberte added that she had him as a student in her English class.

“He’s hard working, he’s determined, but he’s humble and also just willing to work,” Laliberte said. “He’s the kid that wants to know, because he wants to improve and grow. He’s not just there for the grade. He’s there because he genuinely just wants to be a better person.”

Dillon said that in his day-to-day life, he likes to interact with everyone and break the stereotype that everyone has a niche that they fit into.

“It’s your leadership on a day-to-day basis that I feel like has a greater impact on the community. It’s talking to people you don’t usually talk to, sitting at a different lunch table, being a kind person and always having a smile on your face and just putting yourself out there,” he said.

Dillon said he looks up to many role models in leadership, including his dad, his teachers and his peers. He said he looks up to Heather Chen, a former BHHS student who was involved with student leadership.

“My dad’s probably my biggest role model in life, but everyone around me makes me feel like I have a great community and support system,” Dillon said.

After graduation, Dillon plans to study at the University of Michigan.