Saturday, February 26, 2011

There's a dream...


...that I've been chasing
want so bad for it to be reality...

ONE DAY

until then I'll try my best to wait patiently


Saturday, February 19, 2011

...One of those moments...

So it has taken me a few days to blog about this but it is a really cool story that I can't pass up sharing. As most of you know I am an assistant manager at a local theater and this story happened just this past Tuesday. I was walking to lock the doors and I saw a younger gentleman with down syndrome walk in and didn't think much of it because I assumed an adult was following right behind. A few minutes later I went to the office to do something and my fellow manager and friend, Vanessa, called me over the walkie and asked me to come back to the box office. When I approached I noticed that the young man (maybe in his later teens?) was still standing there alone. She proceeded to tell me that they were talking to him and weren't sure what movie if any he was there for. Vanessa and another employee had gotten his dad's name from him but didn't know where to go from there. She told me thats when she thought of calling me "the future teacher" over. I started to talk to him and found out his name was Brandon. I repeated his dad's name and then asked what his mom's name was. He told me her name. I asked where she was, he said working. I then asked where his dad was and he said sleeping. So I asked if he walked here and came to a movie on his own and he said yes. Vanessa asked what his number was. After saying a few numbers out loud we realized he was missing a few. So I got out a piece of paper and wrote down the area code and what I thought to be his last four digits and I repeated that I needed his number several times and left three blank spots for the numbers I still needed. He was able to give me the number so I proceeded to call it. There was no answer so I left a message explaining that their son Brandon was at our theater and appears to have come in on his own and that I wasn't sure what they would like me to do. In the phone book we found the families address which was located in another city about 15 minutes away from our theater. At that point we were really worried so I tried the phone number one more time and with no luck I then decided that we should call the police. When I got a hold of them I explained the situation and then they asked me to describe him. After that they told me that they had been looking for him for a while and that an officer was on his way and just asked us to keep him occupied until he arrived. As we waited I just grabbed him a small bag of popcorn and water. It was such a cool experience and I thought that, that would be the end of it. The next afternoon though I received a call from his mom who just asked how I knew to call her and just some details of what happened. She then explained a little about Brandon's situation (will explain more below) to me. Later that night I came in to work to find out that his dad had called in and asked for my general manager to talk to him about the events but because he wasn't in he was given our email address and told that he could contact him through that. That night we didn't receive an email so I thought oh well, I can just tell my boss about the cool little story. Well the following day this email was sent to our theater:

Subject: A Thank You to one of your employees

To Whom it may concern,

My name is Sean, and I wanted to send you an email to tell you
about one of your awesome employees, and how they went above and beyond
for a stranger in need.  I don't have her last name, but her first name
is Stacey and she was working on Tuesday night around 10:00.

My son Brandon is in a long term care facility in Orem, about 2.5 miles
from your theater.  Brandon has Down Syndrome, is Autistic, and has
epilepsy.  Sometime around 8:30 PM he walked out of his care facility
unnoticed, and ended up in the lobby of your theater around 10:15PM.
Brandon does not know how to properly cross a street, and high pitched
sounds like bells, horns, and loud beeps can trigger dangerous seizures.
It is a miracle that he made it across so many busy roads, and into your
theater.  (which coincidentally is the one place I took him while I
visited him from NJ last weekend)

The story as it was told to me, is that Brandon walked into the lobby of
your theater, and asked Stacey for popcorn.  She noticed that he was not
with an adult, and did not come out of a theater.  She took the
initiative to ask Brandon for his mother's name and phone number, and
called her home in Lehi to inform her that Brandon was at the theater.
When she did not get an answer, she left a message and then notified the
police that Brandon was at the theater.  At this point Brandon had been
missing from the center for nearly two hours, and there was a large
search effort going on to locate him.  Had it not been for the
thoughtfulness and compassion of Stacey, Brandon could have just been
told to leave or would have walked out on his own again.  Stacey's
actions prevented what could have been serious or fatal events from
taking place, and I would like to thank her from the bottom of my heart.
It is my opinion that her compassion and willingness to do more than the
minimum of her job responsibilities should be rewarded, and that she
should at minimum be recognized in front of your staff for her efforts.


I would also like to send her a token of our appreciation for what she
did for Brandon.  If it is ok, I can mail it to the manager of the
theater c/o Stacey.

Stacey is an asset to your company, and proof that there are still good
people in this world who are willing to help out someone in need.


Sincerely,

Sean




When I read that I admit I shed a tear or two. I really didn't think on Tuesday night how big of a thing that the experience was. I am glad that Brandon was able to make it safely to our theater without harm. I am so grateful that I was guided to help in best ways possible so that he was able to return safely to his family. It's a moment or experience like this that reminds you that people are watching over us. It reminded me of Christ's example to love and help those around us. I love my Savior and his example and for the values that I have been taught in my life by family, leaders, teachers and friends that ultimately allowed me to help this young man.


*** Just another cool thing that came from this was that this email has now been forwarded all across my company and has been seen by some of our corporate leaders who responded with some nice words. All in all it was one remarkable experience I will never forget. 



Monday, February 14, 2011

Monday, February 7, 2011

Teach the Children


"True teachers and leaders see children as they may become."



I saw tomorrow passing on little children's feet
And on their forms and faces her prophecies complete
And then I saw tomorrow look at me through little children's eyes
And I thought how carefully I must teach if I am wise
- anonymous


"To see our children grow, succeed, and take their places in society and in the Lord's kingdom is an eternal reward worth any inconvenience or sacrifice."



I absolutely love these quotes. Being a teacher is going to require so much time, work and responsibility but it's a task I am ready to take on. There has never been anything I've been more sure of than my love for children and teaching.


** Taken from the conference talk "Teach the Children" given by M. Russell Ballard, found here.



Sunday, February 6, 2011

The Newest Leavitt Stud


Little Coen Alexander

My newest nephew who is just as cute as the other 3! I cannot wait to visit him in 13 days :)

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

... Oh, The Joys of Being an Elementary Education Major ...

I cannot decide if I am more excited or more nervous to finally graduate college and begin teaching. Some classes make me want to start tomorrow others make me feel as if I need another five years. It's ridiculous! All I know for certain is that when I see kids I light up. I cannot get enough of them. They are so adorable and just plain incredible human beings. In a month I get to spend a whole month in a classroom observing and teaching mini lessons and I can't wait for the opportunity. But until then I am suffering through the usual required classes. I shouldn't say suffering because I am learning a lot and I have some amazing friends in my classes but it's hard to keep up with school and work at times. And the early mornings have NOT gotten any easier. So for now I live  day by day and seem to be surviving (just barely) while managing to keep a smile on my face (for the most part). I thought I would post a  video me and my friend Caitlyn had to create for our Tech class. It's pretty much AMAZING!! Okay, well maybe not. Just promise you won't laugh too much.