Carolyn Peck
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Hazen High School
Hometown: Renton
College: University of Washington
Carolyn Peck knows how tough it is to work with an autistic child. She has the bruises and scratches to show for it. But the 17-year-old takes it all in stride. "I've learned to dodge his blows. I can calculate when and where he is going to hit me," she said. Her work and patience with her neighbor's 5-year-old autistic boy after school has amazed even the boy's speech pathologist and the family, who had gone through five assistants before Peck.
Peck was determined not to be the sixth to quit. "I agreed to do it because I knew I could make an impact in his life," she said.
The boy, who didn't have any verbal skills when Peck started working with him, now has a small vocabulary, makes eye contact and communicates with visitors. She also showed the boy's two special-education teachers how to work with him and made a home video to help guide other aides when she's not around.
"Our whole lives have changed because of her," said Susan Mooring, the boy's grandmother. "She took a lot of pressure off us."
What she learned in life: Peck said her work with the boy showed that little gains don't seem like much but in the long run, they add up. All it takes is patience and perseverance.
Academic achievement: She has a 3.7 grade-point average and has already earned 26 credits at Green River and South Seattle community colleges. Peck has won numerous state and national awards in DECA competitions and was named Hazen High's Marketing Student of the Year.
- Tan Vinh