Q: As a senior, how was contributing to the food drive important to you?

A: “In the past I hadn’t really done much with the food drive.I didn’t really care too much, [but] you know, this being my last year here at LC and having people tell me this was the worst year for the food drive, I really felt that I had an obligation to help as much as I really could.”

Q: How did you hear about the food drive?

A: “[I] mainly [heard about it] with Ms. Budlove. Being my teacher, she always contributes a lot, and she had told us that it was really up to the students to decide on what to do with it.”

Q: What compelled you to donate so much money for your class?

A: “Honestly, I am willing to admit that it was probably a lot of the competition aspect, and I really wanted our hour to win. I’ve always been a pretty competitive person, but again seeing it was the worst year and seeing how distressed Ms. Budlove and Mr. Clark were, I decided it would be the right thing to do.”

Q: How did the decision to donate affect you and your family?

A: “It was with a little bit of help from my dad, we withdrew it from my bank account, but honestly a lot of people in my family thought I did a very nice thing [and] my dad was really proud of me, [especially] the fact that I was willing to also continue to try to donate it after they tried refusing it.”

Q:What have you gained from this experience?

A: “I’ve gained just a sense of feeling pretty good after doing that, knowing that it helped feed a family and helped raise a lot. With Officer Sidenbender’s donations and all of the Pie-in-the-Face donations, I just feel a lot better, and I feel like I’m giving back to a community that has given me a lot.”

Q: How would you motivate other students to be involved?

A: “I’d say throw that competition aspect back; there was hockey, basketball and Pie-in-the-Face.” Just have fun with it. Find a way to raise money, but also have fun yourself.”

Q: Is there anything else you wish you could have done to further the food drive’s success?

A: “[I] wish I could have given more money, honestly. I wish I could have gotten more people outside, like people from my work or my family members [to get involved], but they were always far away. I was usually just more focused on trying to get more from the school.”

Q: Do you have any advice for next year’s food drive?

A: “Pie-in-the-Face will always work, it will always make you money. If anything, I would get the [competition] going between Clark and Budlove again, like it was the year before with the turkey being stolen. This year it was stolen, but no one really cared too much. [For next year] we just need to find kids motivated, select them, and then get them to get people interested.”