Coming to school on a Saturday doesn’t bother Trevor Romano if it’s for a good cause. As a member of the Tuxedo Park School’s Community Service club, TPS Gives Back, Trevor has helped to organize Halloween parties and bake Thanksgiving pies for families in shelters, make lasagna for nearby soup kitchens, and organize food drives for the local food pantry—often on Saturdays. And that’s just at school. Through his family’s church in Franklin Lakes, Trevor has participated in numerous walk-a-thons, supporting causes ranging from Hurricane Katrina victims to Haiti earthquake relief. He’s helped to run bake sales, and gotten even the youngest kids in his church involved by helping to guide them during community service events.
During the Tuxedo Park School’s eighth and ninth grade trip to the Youth Service Opportunities Project in New York City, Trevor and his classmates spent a night and two days working in soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Although Trevor has had more practice at this and initially felt more comfortable than many of his classmates, he found that his energy is contagious, and is pleased to see his classmates and friends get enthusiastic about community service. When the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade classes recently volunteered at the Special Olympics at Mountain Creek, helping disabled people to ski who had never skied before, they all felt that the grateful smiles they received were appreciation enough.
Trevor came to Tuxedo Park School three years ago along with his sister, Lindsay, after a friend and neighbor suggested the school. Trevor describes, “I came to visit the first time, and I came running down the stairs and knew it was the place to go. “ Although the academics are tough and the workload much more challenging than in his former school, Trevor is glad he wound up at TPS. In addition to his school work and community service, he skis plays tennis and lacrosse and feels fortunate to play saxophone and electric guitar in the school band. Next year he will be returning for the Freshman Year, and is already anticipating the coveted Freshman Trip to China—a nine-day sojourn through Beijing, Badaling, Xi’an and Shanghai. The leadership opportunities that are available to Tuxedo Park School freshmen are another draw for Trevor. He would love to be a sports team captain, and plans to run for Green Team Captain to lead his team in the annual, year-long Green and Gold competition.
Although Trevor comes to school most days on a bus with over 25 other students from New Jersey, the small class size at TPS is invaluable to him. The one-on-one attention from teachers and the close bond that develops with his classmates is an important part of life at Tuxedo Park School. These strong friendships will last beyond his time at TPS, and he feels that he will graduate with better academic and personal growth after the Freshman Year. “It’s a big difference and a very noticeable difference,” he says, referring to the challenging academic program at TPS, “but hard work pays off in the long run.” The strong friendships and opportunities to give back to the community make the hard work worthwhile.
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