What are some of the traits that Mr. Tushman says make up a person?

The Henry Ward Beecher Medal is the last award of the day and is presented after the academic excellence awards. The award is named after the great nineteenth-century abolitionist and human rights crusader Henry Ward Beecher and is given to those students who have been exceptional in the area of community service. Before presenting it, Mr. Tushman gives a small speech to explain its purpose. He says that the award is given to recognize greatness—a quality that is not very easy to define. He states that we, as humans, can be pushed to greatness if we possess four key traits: “Courage, kindness, friendship, and character.” Further, quoting from Beecher’s writings, he states that

greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength. He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own.

He then calls upon August Pullman to receive the award.
Earlier on, while giving the “middle-school address,” Mr. Tushman talked about success and how it could be measured at the end of a school year. He advised the students to look at “what they’d done with their time, how they’d chosen to spend their days, and whom they had touched” to measure their success. He also talked about kindness at length and the need for it in everyday life.
Clearly, the two speeches are related in that they explore greatness in humans: how people, young or old, can grow into exceptional human beings. August wins the award not because of his good academic performance but because he has shown courage in the face of great adversity brought on by his facial deformity, kindness and friendship to the members of the school community (even when these were not reciprocated), and strength of character in attending school for the first time after years of homeschooling and in staying on in spite of the challenges he faces.

In Wonder, Mr. Tushman is the principal of the middle school that August Pullman, or Auggie, attends. During the graduation ceremony, Mr. Tushman gives a speech as he is about to name the recipient of the Henry Ward Beecher medal. This award is to honor a student who has been exemplary in some way. Mr. Tushman identifies from a passage written by the namesake of their school, Henry Beecher Ward, the qualities or traits that "define us as human beings" and lead someone to become great. These qualities are "Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character."
Auggie is the recipient of the award, as he has demonstrated these qualities during his first year at the school. Throughout his year, Auggie is able to form friendships and gain respect from students who, in the beginning, did not give him a chance. Because of his facial abnormalities, many students avoid or tease him at first. However, by the time of his fifth grade graduation ceremony, Auggie receives a standing ovation when he is announced as the winner of the special award.