2008 Woodie Awards
Reach Out Center
Sarah Lennox
Issue date: 12/7/04 Section: Campus Life
- Page 1 of 2 next >
"Don't pick a girl Sarah: there's only a few of them to choose from, so that would make the guesses easy," Danielle instructed me as I selected a Guess Who card.
"Alright, I won't," I agreed, nodding to my Guess Who guru.
"O.K...Is your person a girl?" Danielle asked on her next turn.
"Nope," I answered. A satisfied grin spread across her face.
After a few quick rounds of Guess Who, my mentee tugged the edge of my shirtsleeve in impatient anticipation. She wanted to go outside. A few of the other kids clambered past one another, pushed against the PULL OPEN door, and scurried into the small, fenced yard of St. Peter's Parish. When we joined them a few minutes later, they had already started to gather damp bunches of auburn leaves. Terri periodically sought evaluation from the mentors, breathlessly inquiring, "Is it as big as the one they made last week?" She clapped her hands and skipped around the growing pile, risking partial plunges (a submerged foot here, an "accidental" slip into the pile there) whenever the diligent leaf collectors wandered away. Finally, the younger children, including Terri, surrendered to their primal inclinations and hopped headlong into the colorful array of musty leaves.
"No! No! Noooooo!" protested Thomas, but quickly he joined the twist of limbs and leaves.
As the mound began to level, mentees armed with nature's confetti charged at the other mentors and me. I ducked to avoid a handful of ones Terri tossed in my direction, when suddenly a heap of rust colored leaves fluttered down on me from above. Startled, I gasped as the cool, wet leaves clung to my skin. As Danielle clutched her sides in giggling glee, I picked bits of leaves from my tangled, wind-tossed hair, inhaling the earthy scent as I did so. I was about to chase after her, when a brazen boy (a full three feet in height) waddled over to Sister Mary Ann and showered her with a pile of leaves! For a moment, Sister Mary Ann appeared startled. Quickly, however, she bent down to collect a handful of leaves to toss back at the boy, joking, "Oh, I'll get you!" The boy scampered off with a trailing, high-pitched chuckle. We all laughed as Sister Mary Ann abandoned her plans of retaliation.
"Alright, I won't," I agreed, nodding to my Guess Who guru.
"O.K...Is your person a girl?" Danielle asked on her next turn.
"Nope," I answered. A satisfied grin spread across her face.
After a few quick rounds of Guess Who, my mentee tugged the edge of my shirtsleeve in impatient anticipation. She wanted to go outside. A few of the other kids clambered past one another, pushed against the PULL OPEN door, and scurried into the small, fenced yard of St. Peter's Parish. When we joined them a few minutes later, they had already started to gather damp bunches of auburn leaves. Terri periodically sought evaluation from the mentors, breathlessly inquiring, "Is it as big as the one they made last week?" She clapped her hands and skipped around the growing pile, risking partial plunges (a submerged foot here, an "accidental" slip into the pile there) whenever the diligent leaf collectors wandered away. Finally, the younger children, including Terri, surrendered to their primal inclinations and hopped headlong into the colorful array of musty leaves.
"No! No! Noooooo!" protested Thomas, but quickly he joined the twist of limbs and leaves.
As the mound began to level, mentees armed with nature's confetti charged at the other mentors and me. I ducked to avoid a handful of ones Terri tossed in my direction, when suddenly a heap of rust colored leaves fluttered down on me from above. Startled, I gasped as the cool, wet leaves clung to my skin. As Danielle clutched her sides in giggling glee, I picked bits of leaves from my tangled, wind-tossed hair, inhaling the earthy scent as I did so. I was about to chase after her, when a brazen boy (a full three feet in height) waddled over to Sister Mary Ann and showered her with a pile of leaves! For a moment, Sister Mary Ann appeared startled. Quickly, however, she bent down to collect a handful of leaves to toss back at the boy, joking, "Oh, I'll get you!" The boy scampered off with a trailing, high-pitched chuckle. We all laughed as Sister Mary Ann abandoned her plans of retaliation.