Harold Anderson Wins Prestigious Award at Penn Charter

Last year, we shed some light on Harold Anderson's road to Penn Charter. We are pleased to announce that Harold won the Williams C. Shields 3rd Memorial Prize in his first year. This award goes “to a student who has completed Ninth Grade with an outstanding record in character, scholarship and sportsmanship”. We decided to touch base with him to check out his progress now that the school year is over.   What does it mean to win the award? HA: This award to me is validation of all the hard work and effort I've put in, and all the obstacles and barriers I've passed on my journey. It shows that people have not only noticed, but acknowledged my dedication and persistence. More importantly, this awards means that I'm living up to my full potential, pushing myself to achieve, and making everyone who supports and helps me proud. What is the biggest reason that has lead your success in school and athletics? HA: Being constantly engaged in what I'm doing. With being a new student at Penn Charter and playing my first year high school varsity sports, I couldn't afford to be aloof and unsocialable during the year. In school, I was participating often in class and volunteering for any activities. In addition to that, I got involved in student council and was elected vice president for 10th grade. In sports, I learned as much as I could everyday and took advantage of every opportunity to get better. What are your thoughts on Beat the Streets? HA: Beat the Streets is an excellent and compelling program that allows kids to create a path to success for themselves through wrestling. The sport of wrestling, unlike any other, teaches you efficient techniques and methods that you can carry into all aspects of life. Beat the Streets helps and guides kids how to apply those techniques and methods into all of those aspects. That help and guidance, as you can see, can carry you a long way in life and set you up for success. What advice do you have for younger student-athletes? HA: Stay persistent and always find the positives of any situation. Being new to wrestling is intimidating itself, especially for younger kids. On top of that, traveling to tournaments and facing some of the best competition in the state and taking consecutive losses can be really disappointing and take the fun out the sport. It's essential to remind younger athletes often to keep giving it 100 percent and to think about their personal progression and the experience they're gaining. What are your long terms goals? HA: The only set goal I really have at this time is to create as many opportunities going forward as I can. I think having options allows me to pick choices that best fit me and alleviate my stress. I try to prevent from setting any long term goals as of now, though most likely they will be sports related.     We wish Harold and the rest of our student-athletes the best during all of their academic and athletic endeavors!