ROYAL CITY - Royal High School's annual Senior Night, held on June 4, was a little more special this year with the presenting of the first-ever Knight Award to Jackson Noftle.

Senior Night is generally a night of scholarships. The Knight Award will be an annual announcement in the future.

The recipient will be given a 12-16 inch statue of a knight, and his/her name will be inscribed on a plaque of all the winners. The award will go to an individual who has never given up, no matter the obstacles, and has contributed selflessly to Royal High School.

"The individual exemplifies a lifelong Royal High School Knight," counselor Mark Kondo said.

Noftle has been an inspiration to classmates and older and younger schoolmates during his school career. He has been battling a rare disease most of that time, requiring numerous treatment trips to Seattle and Texas.

In addition to the Knight Award, Noftle received an Honor Society Scholarship worth $260 and the Dan Verhey Scholarship worth $500.

The class scored big on scholarships. The final total value was $154,666.

"We had a couple of students who received $5,000 scholarships that are renewable for four years. So the worth of their scholarships was $20,000," Kondo said.