12 | BALANCE OF EXCELLENCE very HIES student hopes to leave their mark on their school community. Liam Hill took this literally. As part of his Eagle Scout Service Project, he planned and built HIES’ first cross country course on campus. As a cross country captain, Hill felt obligated to help his teammates and coaches train safely within 805.
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“I remember running a sort of hill route through that parking lot,” Hill said. “That’s not ideal for anybody––traffic flow or humans.” With fellow Eagle Scout Colin Peters, Hill began the planning phase of his project in October 2017. Preparing to construct the trail required talking with school administrators and contacting Sandy Springs for the necessary permits. After organizing a team of volunteers and purchasing supplies, the actual labor phase of the project began in March 2018. Hill estimates that the total work he put into the trails amounted to several hundred hours of planning and building. “Sophomore year was definitely difficult with that major project going on with all the schoolwork, track, and then having to be at school every weekend working on that for six hours a day in the sweltering heat,” Hill said.
LIAM HILL
Though the work was difficult, Hill finds it incredibly rewarding to be able to give back to his community and to leave a tangible legacy at HIES. “It’s an indelible mark on the ground, which is pretty cool,” Hill said. “I can go back in 10 years and see how I helped the community.”
SERV SER n primary school and lower school, many girls sell cookies and participate in retreats as members of their local Girl Scout Troop. Ruthie Reid, however, remains an active participant through her work in her troop. “Once you move up into high school, it’s really about serving your community,” Reid said.
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To earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, Reid created a culturally sustainable English curriculum for refugee children to use. Her curriculum is a printable PDF called the “Journey Journal,” and this format allows refugee children to improve their reading and writing skills while maintaining their culture. Prompts from the curriculum include questions such as, “What is your favorite meal at home?” so the children can become better writers and readers within the framework of their own unique culture. Refugees have always had a special place in Reid’s heart. “What they go through is like nothing in the world,” Reid said. “No one can relate to it except for them.” To bring a greater sense of cultural awareness to the HIES community, Reid founded the Culture Club. The main goal of the club is to facilitate dialogue surrounding unique cultures and traditions.“We talk a lot in that club,” Reid said. “We just talk about culture. We talk about different traditions, differences, similarities, and the importance of each.” Though unsure of her area of study, Reid will continue to foster her passions for different cultures and work towards a “people-oriented” career at the University of Georgia next fall.
RUTHIE REID
