As the school season winds down, it is only fitting to extend some tributes.
Too many to mention, yet too few to ignore, here are some of their stories:
====
Graduation is a year away for Robert English, but the Auburn High School junior already has successfully completed Survival 101.
Instinctively, he made the ultimate save.
At Lake Retreat last month, the Camp Auburn counselor discovered that Nicolas Savoie was choking on a piece of hard candy.
“He started to change color,” English recalled. “He was turning red.”
Before Savoie could turn blue, English quickly grabbed the Chinook Elementary School fifth-grader from behind and immediately administered the Heimlich maneuver. English dislodged the piece of candy and Savoie was breathing freely again.
For his efforts, English was honored for heroism and leadership during a school-wide assembly at Chinook last week. Accompanied by his mother, English was presented with an award.
English, son of Lori Randall and Ken English, remains humble from the ordeal.
“I was in a panic,” he admitted, “but I knew something had to be done. … I just pushed on his chest.
“I wouldn’t call it the Heimlich, I’d call it the Heimlich Robert English-style,” he said. “I just did what needed to be done.”
Regardless of what the maneuver is called, Savoie is glad English came to his rescue. If not, he might not have celebrated his 11th birthday on June 4.
“I said thank you,” Savoie pointed out. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to live or not.”
====
If you want reliability, call on David Todd.
The Auburn Mountainview senior hasn’t missed a day of school in his life – a 13-year spree without an official absence from class.
“It’s always something I did,” Todd said of his perfect attendance, which began at Dick Scobee Elementary and continued at Cascade Middle School and Mountainview.
For his efforts, Todd was honored at a school-wide assembly Tuesday afternoon.
Surprised?
“No,” Todd replied, “I’ve got 13 of them (perfect attendance awards).”
About the only thing that’s surprising is the reaction Todd receives from friends and other students.
“They’re shocked,” Todd said. “They don’t believe I did it.”
The secret to Todd’s string of good fortune is simple – staying fit and healthy. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Todd enjoys lifting weights and being active. A 3.5 student, he plans to attend Green River Community College and eventually continue his studies in health and fitness at a four-year institution.
Todd did miss a few classes during his streak, but never a full day.
For Todd, 18, it has been a difficult academic season. He lost his mother, Susan, to an illness five months ago. He lost his father, Kelly, when he was young. But he and his two brothers and two sisters have persevered, raised by their grandparents.
Through good and bad days, one thing was certain: Todd was always there.
====
Special things come in twos.
At Auburn Mountainview, they came from the “Golden Twins” – Aline and Lauren Golden.
The seniors will leave a considerable mark as ambassadors. They embody respect, honesty, care and cooperation.
Solid students, they literally were involved in every event at the school – from football games to the Relay for Life to eating lunch with a lonely student.
According to the Auburn Mountainview staff, “If there was a best-in-show award, these young ladies would win without a doubt.”
====
Given a design challenge, an Auburn Riverside trio recently pulled through and won a big cash reward.
Casey Allen, Conner Bauman and Ariell Swan – seniors who plan to study engineering in college – captured first place in the design challenge category of the Washington State University’s high school energy competition, Imagine Tomorrow. They were awarded a $10,000 cash prize — $5,000 for the school and another $5,000 to be split among the trio.
“It will go toward books,” Bauman said with little hesitation.
The trio entered their “Enviro Energy House” prototype, which required teams to design living/working spaces that significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions. Their “green” house featured a heating and air conditioning system run on solar panels; energy-efficient walls and windows; filtration system to recycle sink and shower water; and even a 100-percent recyclable roof composed of ground-up rubber that mimics slate tile.
Casey, Conner and Ariell presented their prototype during an all-day poster session in WSU’s Bohler Gymnasium. Their visual aids included a 3-D model of the house and the actual air conditioning prototype.
The three seniors decided to form a team after their advanced drafting teacher, Bill Sumner, provided the class contest entry information and an opportunity to compete.
More than 300 high school students in 89 teams from across the state competed, but this Ravens’ trio came out on top.
“It was cool,” Allen said of the experience. “We had people in the (engineering) field judge our work.”
And they liked what they saw.
“It was a new experience for me,” Swan said. “We didn’t know what to expect.”
