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A Washington state student recently revealed at his high school graduation ceremony that he was the mystery person behind an Instagram account that posted positive messages about his classmates, according to KTLA sister station KCPQ.

Konner Sauve, the school’s valedictorian, explained that he started the account, “thebenevolentone3,” as a way to combat bullying and make each and every one of his classmates at East Valley High School in Spokane Valley feel good about themselves.

“During the summer, I made the decision to go in and try to make everyone here feel appreciated and recognized for simply being the amazing people they are,” he wrote in a post on the Instagram account.

Sauve continued: “It is easy for people to be cruel over social media, so I decided to make an anonymous account on Instagram that would counteract the negativity seen today by posting a picture of each student and a paragraph of what makes them GREAT and how other people should see that too.”

As of Sunday, the account, which has been active almost a year, has 658 posts. Each is about a different student from the high school’s different class levels, and every one features the student’s name, photo and a brief description recognizing what makes that person special.

According to KCPQ, Sauve revealed to his classmates he was the one who started the account during his graduation speech.

Sauve’s account seems to have resonated, with people from across the U.S. and all over the world leaving messages of encouragement, support and appreciation for his actions.

It has also gained traction on social media and even with celebrities. On Sunday, Ashton Kutcher shared an article about the account to his more than 17 million fans on Facebook, writing simply, “We need more of this!”

For his part, Sauve said he hoped the next generation of East Valley High students would continue what he started.

“Although I part without finishing all of the class of 2017, I wish that the next generations take over and find bolder ways to express positivity and encouragement in the East Valley Community,” he wrote. “Keep on keeping on.”

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There’s a tad bit more than you thought there was, I apologize. There is one quote in particular from Maya Angelou that reads “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I find this such an inspiring quote because over the past year I saw a change occur in our high school, a positive one, it seemed as though we were more united than we had been in the past. During the summer, I made the decision to go in and try to make everyone here feel appreciated and recognized for simply being the amazing people they are. It is easy for people to be cruel over social media, so I decided to make an anonymous account on Instagram that would counteract the negativity seen today by posting a picture of each student and a paragraph of what makes them GREAT and how other people should see that too. So after 657 posts, over 11 months, and finishing each person in the Class of 2014, Class of 2016, and of course our Class of 2015, I would like to prove Jose Gutierrez right and admit that I am “thebenevolentone3” Benevolence being defined as “characterized or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings.” In the end, I realized that we are ALL the benevolent ones in our way and actions of how we treat others, it has been a wonderful year. I’ll miss East Valley. And although I part without finishing all of the class of 2017, I wish that the next generations take over and find bolder ways to express positivity and encouragement in the East Valley Community. Keep on keeping on.

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