Great Stories
Montana Campus Corps:
College Students Meeting Critical Community Needs
Valerie by Megan Hartman

One Monday in early April, I walked into the gym of a small elementary school in Belgrade, Maine. The first two words to come to mind to describe these kids? Young and HYPER. Many of them were sprinting around the gym, chasing after one another. Some of them clung to their parents, waiting nervously for the audition to start. And the rest were chatting with one another, excited to start the week.

We called the kids over and started the audition. We had a total of 48 kids. Out of that 48, only three of them were in 5th grade. Normally, this show calls for at least six or seven kids who are supposed to be 12 years or older. As we discussed who to cast in each part, we could only hope that the younger kids could step up to the plate and take on a bigger role. We were placing 3rd graders into lead roles and giving 2nd graders scripts! We continued with the audition and walked down the lines of kids trying to figure everything out.

Right in the middle of one of those lines stood Valerie. A short, pudgy 8-year-old...but boy oh boy was she loud! Although she caught my eye at the beginning, Valerie struggled to say many of the audition lines we gave her. I thought to myself "Uh oh. We're going to have a tough time getting her to remember everything this week." We cast Valerie as a Palace Attendant, thinking she'd be able to follow everyone else's lead while she was on stage.

As the week went on, my patience was definitely tested more than once. The kids were chatty and they wined and complained about everything.

"Okay everybody. That song was a little rough. Let's run it again."
"BUT WHYYYYYYYYY? I'M TIIIIIIIIIIIRED."

I had to remind myself that many of these kids were 7 or 8 years old and not used to working 11-hour days. Throughout all the stress and frustration, there was Valerie. During our dinner break on Wednesday, Jeremiah and I were discussing how our respective rehearsals went. "Valerie is actually doing pretty well. She seems to know what's going on, and she knows all the words to the songs much better than the other kids". I was quite surprised to hear this, thinking maybe it was a fluke. But as we headed into the next rehearsal together, Valerie proved me wrong. She knew her songs. She knew her lines. She knew her cues. While everyone else stared off into space or played with their shoe laces, Valerie knew what was up.

Over the next few days, I watched Valerie excel even more. I told her that if she knew the words to the songs, she better belt 'em out. And she did! Valerie became my go-to girl. I let her read along with the master script so she could help me get the other characters ready. When we were backstage, I had her be the "door guard" so she could make sure the door to the hallway didn't slam as kids walked in and out. She even came up and asked me if I needed help collecting the props.

Then came show day. On Monday, I had assumed Valerie wasn't the brightest, that she wouldn't be able to do much on her own, that she'd would probably need a lot of repetition and reminders. Valerie started off the week with a part that wasn't well-known or very "unique". But on Saturday? Valerie stole the show. When she was out there, she sang her pretty little heart out. She always knew what was going on and made sure to plaster a huge smile on her face whenever she went on stage. And afterwards, I had many adults come up to me and tell me how great she was.

I know I won't be forgetting Valerie any time soon. I don't even think I can accurately describe how proud I was of her. She has a big heart. And an even bigger smile. Even if I didn't make the biggest impact on Valerie's life that week, I am certain she made one on mine.

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