SNOHOMISH — Matt Forrest is a senior at Snohomish High School. He is a school leader, has a 4.0 grade-point average and serves as president of the National Honor Society. Forrest, 18, is known throughout the school for his kindness.
Question: What drives you to be kind to others?
Answer I’ve experienced difficult times and I know everybody does. You never know what a person might be going through. I think about how I can help. Just a smile can make a difference in someone’s day. I think it’s something people should be obligated to do. If people were kinder, the world would be a better place.
Q: Tell us how you were honored for your kindness.
A: Mike Smith came to school last year. He’s a motivational speaker who talks about kindness, treating people with respect and doing small things that can impact how everything runs. I was chosen with three others as an “ambassador of kindness.” It was pretty neat because I would have never expected that, just sitting there in the audience. When you’re just opening a door for someone, you don’t think about being recognized.
Q: What do you like to do for fun?
A: I’ve been taking German for four years. My mom was able to go on a trip to Germany in her high school career so we’re able to have conversations. That was the motivation for me to learn the language.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: My hobbies are doing stop-action photos and building life-size Lego creations. I also do You Tube videos, showing my creations. I give insight into how my pieces are built, but a lot of people don’t. They want to keep their ideas secret, but I don’t mind sharing.
Q: You’re involved in several groups that help other students.
A: With the National Honor Society, I do tutoring for other students who need help with math or English. We also tutor with special-needs students. It’s a great way to interact and help on a first-person basis. It’s a very rewarding feeling to be able to help whenever possible.
Q: What other ways are youable to help?
A: I’ve been Link Crew leader for two years. We take freshmen around before school starts. It helps them get a feel for the school. Leadership has been a big part of my high school career. It really helped me to be myself, step outside my comfort zone and talk to people. It’s important because you can’t get the message as well in a text as you a can in a simple conversation.
Q: What are your other leadership activities?
A: The Associated Student Body leadership class opened my eyes last year. I was chair of the canned food drive. I set it up and dealt with the food bank. We collected 6,070 canned food items and $450 in donations for the Snohomish food bank. Not many kids get to experience what something like that is like. It’s indescribable. There’s just something about helping people. Being able to be a part of something bigger than my high school was a true gift.
Q: And you’ve been to a number of leadership conferences.
A: I did American Legion Evergreen Boys State this summer. It’s a learning camp where you solve government problems. I also went to Washington, D.C., for a national young leaders conference. My grandfather, who died in July, paid for the trip because he said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It wasn’t easy, because he passed, and then I had to take the trip. But it was almost like he got to go with me.
Q: Do you want to talk about what your grandfather meant to you?
A: My grandfather was a very influential person in my life. A lot of the reason I try so hard in school is so my grandparents and parents would be proud. I’ve seen the kind of tough things a family can go through when struggles arise, so I know how it feels when someone smiles. Whether it was teaching me to fish or to hang in there when things got rough, my grandfather was there. He had a tough childhood, so he knew what it means to have people be nice when they don’t have to be.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: I’m still figuring out what I’m going to do. There’s a lot of things I’m interested in. I’m thinking about studying history or becoming a school counselor or psychiatrist. I think that’d be a career path where I could combine my job with my love of helping people.
Q: What schools are you considering?
A: The University of Washington because that’s where my grandpa went. It’d be incredible to go to the same school. I need to do some research on other colleges. I have about 400 emails in my inbox from schools, so I have a lot of work to do.
Q: What lessons from high school do you hope to take with you?
A: Try to be the change you want to see. That’s something I’m taking from someone else but that’s what I live by.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.
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