Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 14, 1995 TAG: 9508150088
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Age: 17
School: Giles County High School
Year: Senior
What he does: Robert volunteers on the Eggleston Volunteer Fire Department, just as his brother, father and grandfather do. Until his next birthday, he must remain a member of the junior squad.
Robert responds to calls, runs the equipment and has many of the same responsibilities of the senior members on the team.
``I've always had a fascination with fire trucks, ever since I was a little kid,'' he said. ``I've always liked to help people out and this is just another way I can do it.''
Robert helps other high school students improve their math and reading skills during a peer tutoring class. During one class, he heard about the need for volunteers to work with pupils at Eastern Elementary School and goes there twice a week before school, helping fourth and fifth graders with math.
In her nomination letter, Mary Coffey, a teacher at the school, wrote, ``Robert is talented in his ability to bring out the best in students. He has a sense of humor and makes learning fun.''
``Robert is really an individual who wants to be of service to others,'' Coffey said in a phone interview. ``He's excellent with the students and is a good role model. He's one of the few people his age I've seen who's not controlled by peer pressure.''
Coffey cited Robert's hectic schedule, which includes school, a part time job and his volunteer work. ``Sometimes he's called out in the middle of the night for the fire department.''
Robert also volunteers with the Giles County Historical Society under a partnership plan with his school. Through this community service work, he can earn scholarship money for college.
School activities: Robert is in the Student Education Association, the history and Spanish clubs, was chosen to play trombone in the symphonic band and was vice president of the Student Council Association in his junior year.
He was chosen to attend Boys State, where students from across the commonwealth set up and run a model government.
Other activities: Robert has a first class rank in Boy Scouts, where he is a senior patrol leader.
Obstacles: ``Sometimes it's hard to keep the kids' attention. I didn't realize how much patience it would take [to work with young children].
``I saw in myself that I have a lot of patience. If a situation got too rough, I thought I'd be in trouble. I'd just step back a minute, regain my patience and find a way to get through it.''
What he's learned: The most rewarding part of Robert's work with the fire department is his ``sense of satisfaction in helping people as individuals.''
In tutoring the Eastern Elementary pupils, ``...the best part is when a child asks a question, I show them how to do something and their faces light up when they understand it.
``I've gained experience of what students are like. I've learned more about others that many often miss during their rush through life.
``I've learned that if I take the time to understand what someone wants me to do, I can achieve it.''
Future plans: Robert plans to major in music education in college and become a band director.
This twice-monthly column spotlights a teen-ager who is using his or her own initiative to make a difference in our neighborhoods, schools and communities. We think they deserve a public thank-you for helping other people. Nominations are sent in by our readers (see guidelines below).
by CNB