Patnode received the award for the countless hours of community service she performed
WOODLAND — Woodland High School’s Elisabeth Patnode received the Silent Servant Student Award from the Peter R. Marsh Foundation which includes a special plaque along with a $500 grant for use to Patnode’s future plans.
Patnode received the award for the countless hours of community service she performed. In addition to volunteer work with her church, she has been volunteering at the Love Street Playhouse since she was eight years old.
“It’s basically my second home,” she said. “I’ve been a part of Girl Scouts since I was little, and a big part of what they teach you is the value of volunteer work, so I’ve continued giving my time whenever I can as I’ve grown older.”
Following graduation from high school this summer, Patnode received the award for the countless hours of community service she performed. Patnode plans to attend Saint Martin’s University located in Lacey, where she will major in elementary education.
“Since I was little, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, and my goal is to teach a school in Africa,” she said. “I learned about this special school through my church’s priest who spent a great deal of time in Africa.”
During the school closure, Patnode has been spending time growing a large vegetable garden and focusing on her studies. In fact, while she’s not a fan of remote learning, she said the statewide closure of schools gave her back some extra time.
“I had so many extracurricular activities before that I found myself a little tired between them and my studies,” she said. “Now, I was able to focus entirely on my schoolwork which was also nice because having schoolwork gave me something to focus on during the stay-at-home order.”
For Patnode, the most challenging part of the statewide school closure was not seeing friends and teachers.
“It has been difficult having to go without that interaction that comes from physically being at school,” she said. “I miss my friends and all the teachers – being with people is what I miss most.”
About the Peter R. Marsh Foundation
The Peter R. Marsh Foundation is dedicated to honoring those who serve others. You can learn more about the organization from their website: www.prmfoundation.org
To learn more about how Woodland Public Schools continues educating students and serving the community during the statewide closure, visit our dedicated news webpage at https://www.woodlandschools.org/home-learning-stories
Information provided by Woodland Public Schools.
