Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Helping others is a gift for this upbeat volunteer

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Friday, October 27, 2000

Helping others is a gift for this upbeat volunteer
Autumn Exelbert, 17, an honor student who may go into education, says the reward is in the doing
By Deborah Martinez
Caller-Times

George Tuley/Caller-Times

Flour Bluff High School senior Autumn Exelbert works in the concession stand at the football stadium on Thursdays. She also volunteers at Flour Bluff Intermediate School and the United Way.

If one child remembers who Autumn Exelbert is, the 17-year-old Flour Bluff High School senior says she will have lived a full life.
   "Little kids, their minds are not molded yet," Autumn said. "And if I could just teach one child enough for it to stay in their mind forever, I will have made an impact. Seeing a child's face light up when you have helped them understand something, it is like unlocking a magical box and receiving a wonderful gift that is priceless."
   The Caller-Times South Texas Distinguished Scholar in service and leadership ranks third in her class of 357, with an 89.59 grade average, or a 98.55 with honors and advanced placement classes factored in.
   Autumn, who plans to enroll at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, wants to study education, perhaps or archaeology. The senior class president is a member of the National Honor Society, secretary of her school's Spanish National Honor Society chapter and volunteers at United Way and numerous community events. Autumn has also volunteered a lot at Flour Bluff Intermediate School.
   "I just feel so lucky where I am now, with my life" said Autumn, who also has been president of her sophomore and junior classes. "To have the opportunity to give to someone alone or needy - what seems like a lot of time to someone else is, in the great scheme of things, not a lot of time out of my entire life."
   What sets Autumn apart, teachers say, is her dedication to community service, her thoughtful approach to life, her remarkable energy and her natural knack as a leader.
   Autumn makes everyone around her feel at ease, said Myriam Bell, a teacher at Flour Bluff High School. She's the type of person whose enthusiasm rouses her peers to care about their school, she said.
   "She's just effervescent, there's no other way to describe Autumn," said Bell, who also is the adviser for the school's National Honor Society chapter.
   "She sees life as an adventure and is ready to take it head on," Bell said. "She can win people over and change the mood in the classroom. Her election to class president every year speaks well of her and how her peers trust in her representation."
   Autumn's mother, Peggy Durre, said her daughter always has been a selfless and positive person, a child she didn't have to work extra hard to raise. As a 3-year-old, Autumn started reading, devouring as many as 80 books a week by the time she was 6, and she has always enjoyed school, her mother said.
   "She's a selfless person, regardless of what it may cost her," her mother said. "She's taught me your children are such a gift and such a wonder."



Staff writer Deborah Mart¡nez can be reached at 886-3618 or by e-mail at martinezd@caller.com

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