Many teenagers serve their community by performing great deeds. Their dedicated acts of kindness not only satisfy themselves in their hearts but also help accumulate service hours for some organizations. Yet some teens have performed community service above and beyond the norm, by initiating some unique plan or idea designed to help those who are less fortunate. Here are some special teens from our local high schools in the Geist area.
Ryan Smith: Senior at Bishop Chatard High School
Another hardworking, compassionate teen named Ryan, stays busy serving as a member of the Student Ambassador Program, National Honor Society, and Leadership Retreat Team. With members from his Social Justice Class, Ryan traveled to a rural area of Kentucky this past summer and participated in “Habitat for Humanity.” Together, his team helped dig the footers and build the foundation for a new home. Also, Ryan serves as an usher at St. Simon Church whenever needed.
“My dad (Bob Smith) is a big inspiration to me,” says Ryan. “Ever since my dad became Catholic through RCIA, he has gotten involved in the parish. He helps with the men’s retreat program called “Christ Renews His Parish.” Another big encouragement to Ryan is Mr. Tyler Mayer, the Director of Student Life at Chatard. Ryan states, “I have gotten a chance to know Mr. Mayer better this year because he is one of my teachers, and he has been my service group leader all four years of high school. He basically does everything outside of academics. He is always working on something new and exciting for students.”
Last year, Ryan remembers going downtown and handing out sack lunches to the homeless for his group service project. He recalls, “It seems like with every lunch we handed out that day, our smiles just kept getting bigger. It’s so much more gratifying to directly hand someone something as opposed to just giving a donation.”
Laura Burger: Sophomore at Bishop Chatard High School
Ever since her sixth grade science class, Laura began dreaming of an idea. She became inspired after reading an article about a young Japanese girl who developed leukemia from the radiation that was emitted from the atomic bomb. The sick girl was told that if she folded 1,000 cranes (birds) using origami art, that she would have any wish granted. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who successfully folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as a long life or recovery from an illness.
Laura would like to transfer this story idea to helping others by folding 1,000 cranes and then selling each one for at least $1.00 or more. She plans to donate the proceeds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Essentially, Laura would be dividing her wish by one thousand, so that many others could benefit from her thoughtfulness. By the way, the average time it takes Laura to fold one crane is just under three minutes.
“I know I have put this endeavor off for a while, but after being contacted for this article, I feel more inspired than ever to finish my dream,” says Laura who comes from a family driven to help others. Each May, Laura’s parents (Jennifer and Paul Burger) support the annual fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by running in the mini marathon held here in downtown Indianapolis.
Kayla Jansen: Senior at Hamilton Southeastern High School
Kayla has started a program called “Kayla’s Craft Kits” whereby she assembles craft kits for the kids at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. “This is a service project to provide children in hospitals with entertainment to distract them from their condition and to give them a more positive outlook,” says Kayla, who has always wanted to help children in some way.
She has come up with two age-appropriate craft kits. They are as follows:
1) Children 4–7 yrs: paper bag animal puppets.
2) Children 8–12 yrs: animal beaded key chains
In addition, both age groups receive picture frames, and stickers to decorate their frames. Recently, Kayla made her first delivery of 230 craft kits to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, where she has definitely touched the lives of these children.
Rosemary Pritchett-Montavon: Senior at Lawrence North
Another teen leader is Rosemary, the only student from Lawrence Township serving on the Mayor’s Youth Council. As a writer for the North Star (school newspaper) she says, “I am passionate about communicating and reading in order to learn and develop empathy in the community.”
“Rosemary is truly an exceptional young lady,” says Steven Goeglein, principal of Lawrence North High School. “She is a Bezos Scholar, which is quite an honor. We are extremely proud of her.”
The Bezos Scholars Program, held at the Aspen Institute, signifies a highly prestigious, seven-day, all-expenses-paid scholarship that allows twelve of the nation’s top students to attend the Aspen Ideas Festival. These scholars have the opportunity to meet visionaries from around the globe, such as international leaders, highly praised thinkers, and creative artists. Rosemary attended the Aspen Ideas Festival this past July with Heather Stockdell, her mentor, who teaches Journalism and Spanish at LN. Together, they have designed “CREATEfest,” a two-day event that will take place on March 11th (Fri. evening) and March 12th (all day) at Lawrence North High School. This exciting program stems from Rosemary’s belief that “…each person has his/her own intelligence which is expressed through creativity, and harnessing this creativity can help foster acceptance and pride in the community.”
Rosemary serves as the Youth Leader for two grants that she helped write and implement:
1)“Wildcat Welcome” – a program funded this past fall for freshman student orientation
2)“IB Reading to You” – a new program to launch in a few weeks whereby the International Baccalaureate (IB) students (such as Rosemary,) will read aloud to Crestview Elementary students in order to promote literacy and learning
Rosemary’s ultimate hope is this: “For community members to be energized to embrace their capacity to be creative and find passion-filled ways of expressing the invaluable form of intelligence that is creativity.”
These teens represent a sampling of the many in our community who are reaching out to help those in need. Whether a student dedicates two hours per day, week, month, or year performing some type of service, one common connection is shared by all. This bond reflects the universal feeling of satisfaction knowing that they are somehow making a difference in our world — for the better.
