Lower Nazareth teen gives up summer activities to help unfortunate

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

While many of his peers were relaxing this summer, Moravian Academy junior Josh Aurand spent three weeks helping those less fortunate.

Aurand, 16, of Lower Nazareth Township, was selected in May by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore for its Center for Talented Youth summer program.

Applicants had to submit an essay and achieve high standardized test scores. Aurand’s grade-point average at Moravian is greater than 4.0.

Aurand selected a service learning program based on civic engagement and contemporary social issues.

From June 26 to July 15, Aurand heard from a panel of homeless adults about what it is like to lose everything, worked at a soup kitchen in urban Baltimore, helped build a house for a needy family and landscaped a school. The program also included 100 hours of classroom instruction.

“Service is something that I think has become important to me and I want to continue to do it,” said Aurand, who also is involved in community events at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Allentown. “I feel motivated and somewhat obligated to give back.”

One of the homeless men talked about battling an addiction and losing his job, which led to him losing his home, Aurand said. A woman who suffered from low self-esteem got involved in a bad relationship that affected her financially and put her on the street.

Aurand said he learned that homelessness could happen to anyone at any time.

“It was an eye-opening experience that broke down myths,” he said.

Aurand said a team of about 15 students and regular soup kitchen volunteers served 800 to 900 people in two hours at the soup kitchen. Aurand saw adults pack food in bags to bring home to their children. Many of them received food stamps at the beginning of the month but needed additional food by the month's end.

“You know there are people out there like this, but it’s not something you see every day,” Aurand said. “I looked out the window and you could see the line stretching out really far. It was hard to take in.”

He helped build a home for a needy family and helped spruce up a neighborhood school in Baltimore with sod, fertilizer and plantings. Aurand said he enjoyed the teamwork, noting it felt good to see so many youngsters invested in helping others.

“It was like you were acting out something you were supposed to do all along but didn’t know how to go about it,” he said.

Aurand’s mother, Teresa Aurand, said she and husband, Mark, try to set a good example for Josh, as well as their older son, Benjamin, 20, who attends the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

“We’re very proud of Josh,” she said. “We tried to raise both our children to see themselves as part of a greater community and have the ability to give back.”

Aurand is co-president of his class, a member of the co-ed cross country team and performs with the Coda Red a cappella group. He plans to continue service learning in college.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nazareth/index.ssf/2011/09/lower_nazareth_teen_forgoed_su.html