Senior Erika Gerber won $5,000 from American Eagle Outfitters, and it was not for wearing cargo shorts and novelty T-shirts.
Gerber won the money - an American Eagle Spirit of Service scholarship - thanks to her community service with Jumpstart. American Eagle sponsors the award, designed to recognize leadership in the program.
Jumpstart is a national non-profit organization that prepares preschoolers to enter school academically prepared. The organization flew Gerber to Pittsburgh to receive the award Oct. 12.
Jumpstart volunteers, or "corps members," meet with children from a preschool three times a week for about two to three hours each session. Twice a week they make their own lesson plan, and on the third they assist the regular teacher.
Gerber - a clinical psychology major - joined the Jumpstart program at Tufts in her sophomore year, working with the Open Center, a preschool housed in a church on Powderhouse Boulevard.
She assisted teacher Sheryl Kandler's pre-kindergarten students. One student, Francisco, got Gerber "hooked" on the program, she said.
"When he first came to pre-school, he didn't speak at all," Gerber said of Francisco. "He would express himself by shouting and punching and kicking."
By the end of the year, Francisco was speaking and could even write his name, his mother's name and Gerber's name. "Watching his progression was by far the most satisfying part," Gerber said. She said working to make a difference in a child's life is "addictive."
In her junior year, Gerber became a team leader, responsible for ten corps members and their preschoolers.
"The program she oversees at Open Center has been an incredible addition to our curriculum," Kandler said of Gerber. "Erika maintains a calm presence, mixed with humor and sheer dedication." Kandler praised Gerber's "clear ability to organize, set goals and objectives and follow through."
Rebecca O'Malley from the University College, the Jumpstart site manager, said Gerber deserved the award. "We are so thrilled that Erika's work with Jumpstart is being recognized in such an incredible way," O'Malley said. "Her dedication to the children in our community and to her peers as a team leader is exemplary."
Sophomore Lynn Jeudy, one of Gerber's corps members, agreed. "I wasn't surprised," she said of Gerber's award. "Her spirit and enthusiasm are contagious, and her heart is always in it. Erika is an exemplary model of what service really is because when you're passionate about something, it shows."
Another corps member, freshman Minh Nguyen, described Gerber as "very dedicated to her work - she's a true leader who is passionate about what she does."
