This week, our community spotlight will be on Mrs. Shapiro, our Young Hearts school sponsor. Mrs. Shapiro is a Woodson Spanish teacher that has been involved with the Young Hearts since 2019.
How were you approached into being the Young Hearts sponsor? What initially interested you about the club?
Rachel Hartzler (who had been my student when she was a freshman) approached me at the beginning of last school year because suddenly YH had lost their sponsor. She told me a bit about the club, and I found the mission particularly relevant to high school students. I was impressed with the service focus, had my own prior connections to LLS, and felt like it was definitely worth my time! Since I was already sponsoring the Spanish club, I had to make sure we could avoid meeting conflicts, but that wasn’t so hard to do.
What does Young Hearts mean to you? Do you feel that the Young Heart’s mission statement or goals reflect anything in your personal life?
Young Hearts does two important things: it highlights the sad reality that even young people suffer life-threatening diseases, and on a positive note, it allows that same demographic to make the difficult journey brighter for those patients by supporting one another in small and large ways. In high school I knew two people suffering very serious diseases, one who passed away too soon; also I have a very close friend who battled cancer during college and went into remission until very recently. All of them would have benefited from the support of Young Hearts. I’m happy you all can help so many.
What’s one fun fact you would like the new or present club members to know about you?
I started dating my husband when we were sophomores in high school!
Are there any hopes for Young Hearts you have for the upcoming school year? Any silly fundraising ideas or club meeting ice breakers?
I’d love to see YH grow even larger (especially recruiting freshmen and sophomores) and maybe raise more than ever for Light the Night, in whatever form the event takes this year. Ice breaker - maybe something fun on Zoom like 2 Truths and a Lie... it can be particularly challenging when you don’t know many people yet!
What are some of the clubs you were in during high school and is there any that has shaped you into who you are today?
I regret not having been in more clubs, actually. I was an athlete and we traveled and practiced so much during the school year that I only squeezed in a few academic things like Spanish Club, some honor societies, and yearbook. We didn’t have as many great clubs, either.
Is there a farewell message you would like to give to the graduated seniors of Young Hearts? Any advice for them to carry after high school?
It was a privilege and an honor to work with such responsible, driven, dedicated, and most importantly kind and compassionate individuals. You all made my sponsor role very minimal (in a good way)! I wish you all the best: as long as you hang on to your spirit of giving and selflessness, life will reward you in ways both overt and subtle.
How was your recent adjustment to distance learning towards the end of the school year? Were there creative ways you had to adapt your lessons to cope with distance learning?
Once we got the technology piece settled, the adjustment was smooth because I’d already been using Google Classroom and a variety of apps with my students. I converted my slide shows to Pear Deck interactive slides to keep students engaged. The hard part was not getting to see and interact with them. I can’t wait for normal class to resume!
The Young Hearts want to thank Mrs. Shapiro for being the best school sponsor by continuing to support and reach out to us even while on summer break. Navigating through the next school year will be a confusing and daunting task, but we're glad to have such a great sponsor along with our talented Young Hearts officers to guide us along the way!