Super Kid: Volunteer serves man and beast
Published 8:33 pm Sunday, April 20, 2014
Nick Wooldridge, 17 is a senior at Crossroads High School, Granite Falls.
Question: Tell me about your award for volunteer work.
Answer: In 2011 I got the President’s Volunteer Service Award for volunteering at the library. I volunteered 127 hours total for the Granite Falls, Lake Stevens and Darrington libraries.
Overall, I have 1,250 hours of community service at the library, the dog park, food drives and school events. This summer I’m planning on working as a special needs counselor at Camp Killoqua.
Q: Tell me about your work at the Granite Falls Dog Park.
A: I found out about the dog park a year after it was created. I fell in love with it because I had Tippy (young Labrador-pit bull mix) at the time. I helped out during a cleanup and established a bond with the other animal lovers.
Q: You’re working on a project at the park, correct?
A: At my high school you have to do a senior project. I’m putting in an agility course, and I’ve got a full dog agility set. It’s going to be the only publicly accessible agility course for dogs in Snohomish County (https://www.facebook.com/gfdac.)
I started last summer. I put an ad on Craig’s List and just got people to respond. Word got out to North Carolina, where Emmco Dog Sport Agility Equipment is based. They sent me a pause table, free. Now I have hurdles, an A-frame structure (the dogs climb up one side and down the other), the pause table, a weave pole set and a tire jump. The only thing I need is a dog walk.
Q: What do you want to do in the future?
A: I want to be a veterinarian or a librarian, it’s either-or.
Q: What are your college plans?
A: Next year I’m going to Everett Community College, and plan to get a transfer degree to a university.
Q: What’s your GPA?
A: It’s about 2.9 right now. I wasn’t very responsible as a freshman. I started at Granite Falls High and went there for freshman, sophomore and part of my junior year. Last year I transferred to Crossroads High. Ever since I switched I’ve been getting pretty much straight A’s. It’s more hands-on, and I’m definitely a hands-on learner. At (Granite Falls High) there are a lot of students and you get more one-on-one at Crossroads.
Q: Tell us about your dogs.
A: I’ve had Tippy for about 2½ years. He’s actually a service dog, we put him through training. He is so dang smart. I’ve had Arlo for about a year-and-a-half, he’s part Queensland Heeler, part pit bull. He’s really fast.
Q: Anything you’d like to add?
A: My mom (Rusty McCoy) has helped me in every way. She encouraged my community service and allowed me to get two dogs. Without her I wouldn’t be an animal lover, I wouldn’t be a “Super Kid.”
