Grads didn’t wait to change the world
Published: June 15, 2006
Brian VanDam was only a little nervous about getting fingerprinted. No ugly past was about to surface and no trouble was waiting down the line. VanDam wanted only to be able to continue teaching and helping the students he’d grown so close to during the school year.
VanDam, who graduated from Scarborough High School Sunday, had to be fingerprinted just like any other school employee in the state of Maine. Throughout his senior year, he spent his study halls and lunch periods not catching up on homework or relaxing with friends, but teaching basic life skills to students with severe disabilities.
“It’s really incredible that he gives his own time to come in,” said Cathy Jordan, who runs the Reverse Mainstream Program. “It means a lot to these kids.”
The program is now in its second year in the High School. Jordan teaches things such as cooking, reading and behavior to students with disabilities, some of whom are non-verbal.
VanDam wasn’t the only student to volunteer during the year, but what really stood out to Jordan was that he did much more than what was required. Instead of taking regular health class, students can volunteer in Jordan’s program for credit. VanDam started out volunteering through class and just kept going. Any free time he had during the day went towards helping out.
VanDam also volunteers with the program outside of school. At this year’s Special Olympics, he helped with events and went along to support his friends.
His only regret was not being able to stay with them all day. Though happy to do both, his work at the softball throw took him away from cheering them on.
While VanDam anxiously waits for his application to go through so he can begin working again, he looks ahead to what college at Cornell will bring.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” said VanDam. “I just fell in love when I saw the campus. It’s a beautiful campus, and the school itself isn’t too shabby either.”
At Cornell VanDam plans on studying aeronautical engineering. For VanDam, engineering seems like a natural choice. Ever since he meticulously measured out foot-long sticks to help support his igloo construction in middle school, engineering has been the the goal.
As for a career, VanDam has grown from supporting igloos to hopefully one day designing planes. While any large plane manufacturing company will do, VanDam won’t be afraid to shoot for the moon.
“NASA would be pretty cool,” he said.
Laura Wood
When Laura Wood’s senior year began, she was expecting to talk to the usual handful of members in the Environmental Club of Scarborough. Instead, she found herself standing in front of 60 of her peers.
The year before Wood took over as president, the new club was still trying to establish itself. As the first meeting approached, she worked hard to advertise that the club still existed and was looking for new members. Her campaign worked. Sixty students showed up to hear what Wood had to say about helping to improve the local environment.
“It was exciting,” said Wood. “I really wasn’t expecting 60 kids. You know, because last year there were only 10.”
Out of the initial group, 30 remained until the end of the year, a number Wood still sees as a success, mostly because they were able to help purchase Scarborough High School’s first and only environment-friendly mini green bus.
Under Wood’s direction, the club suddenly started to grow financially. As money raised at different events over the year started to near the $1,500 amount, the club opened up the green bus bank account.
A grant from the nationwide Do Something added to the goal. Each year the organization chooses 10 high school service groups from around the country to receive $500 grants. Wood got the good news from a conference call along with all the other selected clubs.
“There were about 20 different people on the phone,” said Wood. “Everyone was talking. It was actually really fun. You got to talk with everyone all at once.”
With the club, Wood also collected cans and paper from around the school to both raise more money and to help the school reduce waste. This wasn’t always the easiest of jobs. Wood didn’t just pick up recycling, she searched it out, sometimes after it had been mistakenly thrown away.
“We’d be a little smelly most of the time in the afternoons,” said Wood.
By the middle of the year, students started to ask why they always saw her rescuing cans from trash bins and hauling away recycling bins. The more Wood explained the more members she gained and the easier it was to collect the day’s recycling. By the end of the year they were averaging about $60 a week by redeeming the cans and bottles.
According to Principal Andrew Dolloff, this is how Wood usually goes about starting change: quietly but effectively.
“She’s a great kid,” Dolloff said. “She just doesn’t do flashy things to get noticed.”
All the money the Wood and her club raised went towards buying the green bus for the school. Mostly the bus is used by Cathy Jordan and the Reverse Mainstream Program for field trips, though any teacher at Scarborough High School can ask to sign it out.
This summer Wood will return to the school she just graduated from. She’s in the process of painting the inside of the bus and overseeing a project to convert it to run on vegetable oil.
After the bus is converted and the summer is over, Wood will be off to the University of Maine at Orono to major in environmental science. The former co-captain of the swim team won’t be continuing to swim competitively, but she hopes the extra time will allow her to study and someday travel. Her list of dream destinations range from Europe to Egypt, but no matter what, there’s one goal: to get out and see as much as possible.
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