The community is Cascade High School leadership students’ classroom

Published 11:10 pm Wednesday, April 23, 2008

EVERETT — Leaders lead, and in Gretchen Miller’s leadership class at Cascade High School, volunteerism is in the front.

In her third year at Cascade, Miller has created a program showing students that leadership and volunteering go hand in hand.

“These are experiences these kids have never had before and they come into the class a little naive,” Miller said. “But as they go through they get better and better. They find that when they help others, they not only help themselves but also help the community.”

Miller, a Gonzaga University graduate, said that her time at the Spokane school instilled in her an emphasis on service learning. She has taken that model and applied it in her class.

“There is a look in their eye when they realize they have done something good. It’s priceless,” Miller said. “I’ve seen a 6-foot basketball jock at our school on his hands and knees hiding Easter eggs. Students realize that being out of their comfort zone doesn’t mean they can’t have fun or learn about themselves.”

Miller feels strongly that some students isolate themselves from the world around them. Volunteering changes that.

“Right now in these kids’ lives, it’s all about themselves. Volunteering breaks that down, and puts them in the mindset that if they help other people they are really helping themselves,” Miller said.

Miller’s leadership class has volunteered for numerous events, including Autism Speaks, Light Up the Night and the Giving Tree.

“We are seeing volunteerism here at Cascade grow. When there is an opportunity for students to volunteer, it is almost automatically snatched up,” Miller said. “They have a hunger to volunteer.”