Student of the Month
Each month of the school year the Waverly Exchange Club recognizes an outstanding senior at Waverly-Shell Rock and his/her parents. Selection of the Student of the Month is made by a committee of teachers at the school. These outstanding young people are tomorrow’s leaders. Each recipient receives an engraved plaque and the opportunity to compete for Exchange Club Student of the Year. Each Student of the Month winner writes an essay associated with nationalism as part of the selection process for the Exchange Club Student of the Year. The winner of the Student of the Year award reads his/her essay at an Exchange Club meeting and also competes in the District Student of the Year competition. The Student of the Year receives an engraved plaque.
January 2012 Student of the Month, Ashley Kohagen, daughter or Steve and Penny Kohagen.
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December 2011 Student of the Month, Anna Haywood, daughter or Bill and Wahneta Haywood.
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November 2011 Student of the Month, Megan Schlumbohm, daughter of Mike & Sue Schlumbohm.
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October 2011 Student of the Month, Walker Erskine, son of Dan & Darla Erskine.
|  September 2011 Student of the Month, Joe Amsberry, son of Bob & Erin Amsberry. |
2011 Youth of the Year
2011 Youth of the Year, Andrew Withers, surrounded by his parents Linda and Bill.
America’s Youth and Community Service; Shining the Light of Volunteerism
Making a difference as a leader in a school or community begins with one person. That person is me. While programs and organizations provide a means by which we gather together, the responsibility and choice to lead lies within each of us, and the time to begin is now... through individuals impacting the lives of others. I have spent much of my high school career observing people put others down, placing themselves above their fellow classmates. Real community leaders are developed when people understand that their true value isn’t found in their popularity, their income, or the car they drive, but in who they are on the inside. When an individual finds value in who he/she is as a person and then reaches out to others, we begin to see positive changes in people, and when we respect and admire others for their gifts, we become a true community.
Because of this, I decided, from the time I was a boy, to make a conscious effort to shine the light of volunteerism through the relationships I build with those around me, both young and old. I have always made an effort to befriend everyone in my classes, extracurricular activities, and even those just passing in the halls. Though relationships and offering a kind word are not often included as being on the "frontlines" of volunteering or community service, I feel that helping others realize they are important and have value can truly serve and change an individual and create community. When I was young, my mother used to tell me, "Andrew, share a kind word with someone today because you may be the only person that does." Imagine what today’s schools, local communities, nation, and world, for that matter, would look like if each person just shared a kind word and brought someone to the realization of their own self-worth.
In putting these ideas into action, I value the importance of being involved in projects that truly help others. Though I don’t live in a coastal area or in a big city with opportunities to take on large scale or international projects, like many other applicants may, I have found that opportunities to volunteer present themselves here in small town, rural Iowa. I have helped organize two blood drives at my high school, assisted with a food drive that collected over 700 pounds of food that was distributed amongst our small area food banks, and helped keep our high school’s local adopt-a-mile stretch of highway clean. In 2008, when a devastating flood hit our town and region, the true spirit of volunteerism shone through around our community. The clean-up lasted weeks. I found the most valuable attribute to possess during times like this are to simply be available and just start somewhere. So, my baseball team gathered together, and we helped sandbag the house of our team bus driver, an 80-year-old volunteer herself, who was also dealing with cancer. I organized a small group of friends from my church to go around to other houses in the community and help them clean out their basements and yards as well. This clean-up effort is nothing I even begin to take credit for because our home was fortunate enough to have not been affected by flood waters. I was simply present and available to serve those in need. The true spirit of community was shown in the collaboration of, quite literally, our entire town to recover from that devastation.
While all these projects and involvement are important, if we truly desire to impact the future, we need to instill this passion to volunteer in America’s youth. For this reason, I have also attempted to use my leadership skills to change my school and community through positive relationships with those younger than I am. For the past two years, I have been giving percussion lessons to area youth. Volunteering my time to instill a love for music in others is one of the most fulfilling things I do. I also spend some of my afternoons working with area littleleague players, and refereeing junior high basketball games as a way of setting a positive example for younger children as an involved and responsible role-model. Regardless of whether or not I always improve a child’s skills or make the right call in a game, the fact that younger kids can see a high school student spending time with and around them, and having fun doing it, is of value, one that doesn’t have a "price-tag."
Though these projects with the next generation are an excellent experience, without a doubt, I feel my biggest impact is through my work this year at the local junior high school. I spend three periods of my own school day at the junior high mentoring students and shadowing and observing teachers. Not only does this experience give me a chance to reach out and change the future of our community through the children that live and attend school here, but it will also give me the opportunity to learn how to effectively teach more children in the future as I prepare to enter college in the education field. I aspire to someday teach American history or math at the middle school level, as well as coach baseball, and though my paycheck won’t be nearly what I could make elsewhere in corporate America, the fulfillment of truly touching the lives of students and their futures is all the compensation I need. As the late teacher and shuttle astronaut, Christa McAuliffe once said, "I touch the future… I teach." The opportunity to teach is, in my opinion, the greatest service to any community.
In summation, I believe relationship building IS community building, and in my opinion, the greatest tool we have to change the lives of those around us. The possibilities of influence one can have on the life of another through a conversation and a positive relationship are endless and almost incomprehensible. The "chain-reaction" or ripples that can begin through a kind word today may reach decades into the future, positively affecting individuals, generations, and communities to come. So, in closing, and as you consider your own volunteer-light shining, let me encourage everyone to "…share a kind word with someone today because you may be the only person that does."
Making a difference as a leader in a school or community begins with one person. That person is me. While programs and organizations provide a means by which we gather together, the responsibility and choice to lead lies within each of us, and the time to begin is now... through individuals impacting the lives of others. I have spent much of my high school career observing people put others down, placing themselves above their fellow classmates. Real community leaders are developed when people understand that their true value isn’t found in their popularity, their income, or the car they drive, but in who they are on the inside. When an individual finds value in who he/she is as a person and then reaches out to others, we begin to see positive changes in people, and when we respect and admire others for their gifts, we become a true community.
Because of this, I decided, from the time I was a boy, to make a conscious effort to shine the light of volunteerism through the relationships I build with those around me, both young and old. I have always made an effort to befriend everyone in my classes, extracurricular activities, and even those just passing in the halls. Though relationships and offering a kind word are not often included as being on the "frontlines" of volunteering or community service, I feel that helping others realize they are important and have value can truly serve and change an individual and create community. When I was young, my mother used to tell me, "Andrew, share a kind word with someone today because you may be the only person that does." Imagine what today’s schools, local communities, nation, and world, for that matter, would look like if each person just shared a kind word and brought someone to the realization of their own self-worth.
In putting these ideas into action, I value the importance of being involved in projects that truly help others. Though I don’t live in a coastal area or in a big city with opportunities to take on large scale or international projects, like many other applicants may, I have found that opportunities to volunteer present themselves here in small town, rural Iowa. I have helped organize two blood drives at my high school, assisted with a food drive that collected over 700 pounds of food that was distributed amongst our small area food banks, and helped keep our high school’s local adopt-a-mile stretch of highway clean. In 2008, when a devastating flood hit our town and region, the true spirit of volunteerism shone through around our community. The clean-up lasted weeks. I found the most valuable attribute to possess during times like this are to simply be available and just start somewhere. So, my baseball team gathered together, and we helped sandbag the house of our team bus driver, an 80-year-old volunteer herself, who was also dealing with cancer. I organized a small group of friends from my church to go around to other houses in the community and help them clean out their basements and yards as well. This clean-up effort is nothing I even begin to take credit for because our home was fortunate enough to have not been affected by flood waters. I was simply present and available to serve those in need. The true spirit of community was shown in the collaboration of, quite literally, our entire town to recover from that devastation.
While all these projects and involvement are important, if we truly desire to impact the future, we need to instill this passion to volunteer in America’s youth. For this reason, I have also attempted to use my leadership skills to change my school and community through positive relationships with those younger than I am. For the past two years, I have been giving percussion lessons to area youth. Volunteering my time to instill a love for music in others is one of the most fulfilling things I do. I also spend some of my afternoons working with area littleleague players, and refereeing junior high basketball games as a way of setting a positive example for younger children as an involved and responsible role-model. Regardless of whether or not I always improve a child’s skills or make the right call in a game, the fact that younger kids can see a high school student spending time with and around them, and having fun doing it, is of value, one that doesn’t have a "price-tag."
Though these projects with the next generation are an excellent experience, without a doubt, I feel my biggest impact is through my work this year at the local junior high school. I spend three periods of my own school day at the junior high mentoring students and shadowing and observing teachers. Not only does this experience give me a chance to reach out and change the future of our community through the children that live and attend school here, but it will also give me the opportunity to learn how to effectively teach more children in the future as I prepare to enter college in the education field. I aspire to someday teach American history or math at the middle school level, as well as coach baseball, and though my paycheck won’t be nearly what I could make elsewhere in corporate America, the fulfillment of truly touching the lives of students and their futures is all the compensation I need. As the late teacher and shuttle astronaut, Christa McAuliffe once said, "I touch the future… I teach." The opportunity to teach is, in my opinion, the greatest service to any community.
In summation, I believe relationship building IS community building, and in my opinion, the greatest tool we have to change the lives of those around us. The possibilities of influence one can have on the life of another through a conversation and a positive relationship are endless and almost incomprehensible. The "chain-reaction" or ripples that can begin through a kind word today may reach decades into the future, positively affecting individuals, generations, and communities to come. So, in closing, and as you consider your own volunteer-light shining, let me encourage everyone to "…share a kind word with someone today because you may be the only person that does."
