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closeGov. Gregoire to honor high school volunteer students
United Way, Pierce County will host event in Puyallup
Susan Schell
of the Gateway
Several students from Gig Harbor and Peninsula high schools were to be rewarded for their hours of hard work at a reception this week at the Puyallup Fair and Events Center.
The exclusive, invitation-only event after press time Tuesday was to feature keynote speaker Gov. Christine Gregoire, who was set to honor students who had donated 145 hours or more of their time to earn a varsity letter through United Way of Pierce County’s Varsity Letter in Community Service program.
“I’m in the honor society, and it seemed like a good thing to do,” said Rachel Bishop, a junior at Peninsula High School. “Some of the work was with the theater at Harbor Ridge Middle School directing the students with blocking, acting and helping them with character development. I’ve done it before, and it was a lot of fun.”
Bishop also worked with local Christians, helping them learn about the Bible. She tallied 339 hours of her time to volunteer work.
Brian Templet, another Peninsula High School student and honor society member, volunteered 326 hours of his time — a large portion of that time came with the Boy Scouts of America.
“We worked on clearing trails, painting and other outdoorsy stuff at Penrose and Kopachuck (state parks),” he said. “I also tutored AP chemistry students.”
Templet was looking forward to the event in Puyallup.
“I’m interested to see who else got a varsity letter from my school,” he said. “And just meeting Ms. Gregoire.”
Gig Harbor High School’s Madeline Monson totaled the highest number of volunteer hours out of the local students — 410. Many were logged during mission trips to Mexico, where the teenager helped build houses for needy families.
“It’s hard to see how different it is compared to the U.S. when we’re so close,” she said. “It’s even a shocking experience — it’s hard to take it all in. But it’s always nice to know how to use tools.”
Working abroad gave Monson a new perspective on life back home.
“I saw a lot of people dedicated to their families,” she said. “If they were in different circumstances, I think they would have a lot more respect. I come back and I think, ‘Why do I complain about little things here?’ It’s definitely an eye-opening experience.”
Monson said she had a similar experience during a mission trip at a day camp with underprivileged children in Washington, D.C.
“It was a really rundown part of D.C.,” she said. “I feel we should be able to take care of our own people. The place I worked at was on the same street as the White House. I couldn’t believe the president lived right down the street from there.”
Now in its eighth year, the Letter in Community Service program was created and implemented by United Way of Pierce County’s Youth United program.
Pierce County is the first in the country to have every school district participate in such a program.