Feature article

Cheers to Eastside, where everybody knows your name!

Article by Tammy Lane
January 16, 2008

The spirit of giving is evident year-round at Eastside Technical Center, where students are known for their generosity and willingness to help others.
  “This is a small community. There’s no sense of anonymity,” said Meredith Reed, who has taught English there for six years. “I think being a familiar face and being known prompts someone to step up a little more.”
  And step up they do.
  In the fall, Eastside collected 15,658 pounds of food for God’s Pantry – an average of nearly 40 pounds per student. By comparison, the entire school district collected about 97,500 pounds (roughly 2.8 pounds per student), according to Reed.
  She spearheads the food drive at Eastside, which she called the regional school’s largest annual project.
  “I would say 90 percent of the students participated in some way,” Reed said of the latest event, noting that some brought canned food, others contributed money and still others volunteered their time or their vehicles to pick up donations.
  “They defy the stereotype of apathetic teenagers,” she said. “They completely shatter that.”
  All five high schools in Fayette County send students to Eastside, which also takes students from Jessamine, Woodford and Scott counties. Students attend two-hour sessions, either morning or afternoon, studying everything from auto collision repair, computer programming and criminal investigation to video editing and greenhouse management.
  “We have a good mix of students,” principal Joe Norman said. “When they come to us, we don’t have the interschool rivalries. They understand that when they’re here, they’re Eastside students.”
  James Alcaraz, a senior at Tates Creek High School, said fund-raisers like the food drive build camaraderie among students who might not otherwise get to know each other.
  “When we’re all working together, we don’t even realize we’re from different regions,” he said.   James Davis, a senior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, agreed: “When we all come together at Eastside, it’s like one big family.”
  Reed said the school’s small size -- Eastside has about 440 students this year -- contributes to the sense of cohesion and the commitment to community service.
  “It helps build relationships among students and teachers,” she said. “That motivates the students, who feel they’re a part of something.”
  Incentives like pizza parties also motivate them.
  Computer networking student Sarah Parker, a senior from Scott County High, agreed not only that rewards inspire participation but also that service projects bind the Eastside students in a common goal.
  “You know there’s people out there who can use it,” which provides a sense of satisfaction in volunteering for a cause like God’s Pantry, Parker said.
  Jay O’Hair, who teaches in the truck and diesel technology area, encourages his students to be proud of their Eastside connection and act accordingly.
  “Once you get here, you’re a diesel student,” he tells his classes. “What you do reflects on us and on your fellow classmates.”
  Along with the food drive, the school also takes on service projects as community needs arise. After a tsunami rocked Indonesia and Hurricane Katrina decimated the Gulf Coast, Eastside raised more money for relief efforts than most other area high schools.
  Another successful project Reed cited was a partnership several years ago with the Dream Factory, which grants wishes for children diagnosed with a critical or chronic illness. Eastside’s transportation department located an old pick-up and completely rehabbed it for a teenager whose dream was for a truck in which to take his driver’s test.
  “The students applied their learning and also saw the benefit of helping someone else,” Reed said.
  Fellow teacher Tom Martin, who advises the 18 Eastside students in the Society of Automotive Technicians – or SAT for short – sees those twofold results on an ongoing basis.
  Every Tuesday night, his SAT students volunteer their time to repair vehicles for needy people in the community free of charge.
  “It makes you feel good just knowing you can help out,” said Scott Witt, a senior at Tates Creek High.
  Jordan Shelton, a junior at Bryan Station High, said the students are glad to volunteer, but they also embrace the additional opportunity to learn. “With SAT, you’re under the hood and experience a lot more,” he explained.
  Since such experience will pay off for Eastside students, instructor Bobby Riddle provides another option with the annual Bluegrass Car Care Clinic.
  Each fall, about 20 students volunteer to spend a day working alongside professional technicians who set up shop in a public parking lot and give people’s cars a free once-over inspection. Jason Dunn, a senior at Bryan Station, especially likes observing the experts as they interact with the public.
  “We get so many comments back about the students,” Riddle said, referring to their enthusiasm and willingness to pitch in.
  Eastside does promote giving back to the community, principal Norman said, “It’s part of what we teach.”

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