Jennings teen touts OASC

FORT JENNINGS - Teamwork is important to Lance Gerdeman, but it's not about sports for the Fort Jennings High School senior athlete. He finds Student Council more rewarding. Gerdeman is a five-year member, and this year, he serves as president.

"We're involved in a lot of school events and activities," he said. "For us, it's not a popularity contest. It's a big part of our school. It's something we can be proud of."

What Gerdeman enjoys most about Student Council is the dynamics of the group.

"My freshman year, I liked being mixed with the older kids, all different ages of kids, and now it's great to be in more of a leadership role and share my experience with the younger kids," he said.

The past five years, Gerdeman has attended the Ohio Association of Student Councils state conference.

"OASC is always about leadership, and that's really helped me in school and life. Coming in to the conference as a seventh-grader, I was really shy, but now I could talk to anyone, and I like taking charge of projects, so there's been a huge change. It's been a great experience."

In 2007, Fort Jennings hosted the OASC state conference.

"That was awesome. It was fun to bring the city kids to our town," he said. "They were surprised at the size of our school, and I think the OASC was amazed at the response we got from the community for donations and housing."

Fort Jennings will host the state conference again in 2011, Gerdeman added.

At school, Gerdeman also is a member of the Scholastic Bowl, Envirothon team and Junior Engineering Technical Society team. He plays trombone in the marching, concert and pep bands and has participated in musicals and the senior play. In sports, he played varsity soccer and runs track.

At St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fort Jennings, Gerdeman is a Mass server and usher and plays basketball as a member of its Catholic Youth Organization team.

In his spare time, he works at Arby's in Delphos.

Gerdeman said his four years with the school Envirothon team has helped him decide on a career path.

"We practice two or three times a week from, like, December all the way through March for competition. We study forestry, soils, aquatics, wildlife and other environmental topics, like human impact, global warming, and this year, biodiversity," he said. "I'm really into all that."

Gerdeman said he also enjoys field trips with the Fort Jennings Envirothon team.

"We've gone to Procter & Gamble, Ford and the Honda engine plant. We get a tour and get to talk with the environmental engineer or manager, and they give us a presentation. That's always fun, and you learn a lot," he said. "It's really opened my eyes and will definitely direct where I go after college. I'd like to get into pollution control or something like that."

Gerdeman said he plans to major in chemical engineering and minor in environmental engineering at the University of Dayton.