Hey Folks: I received this e mail from a co-worker today.
www.wvscholar.com/vote.cfm
Please take a minute and vote for Shane Yeater for the WV Scholarship to WV Wesleyan. This young guy has truly championed above a diagnosis of autism that was made when he was three years old. He is involved in many sports and even had a violin solo this past Christmas. He is a great kid with dedicated parents.
I told my friend that I would pass this on to you folks because you’re musicians. There are so few great opportunities like this in West Virginia, and even less for folks with disabilities. Her husband coaches him.
Voting ends June 19th. You’ll need to give your e mail address and you’ll need to receive an e mail (that may go to your junk mail) and respond to that e mail to confirm your vote. Thanks.
He’s still lagging behind Wesley Wright and Angela Pittinger for now.
He’s gaining ground though, he was in 4th. There are so few votes that just a few more will make a difference.
When I voted just now, he was in 3rd. Although he still got over 1000 votes, which is pretty good compared to everybody.
I couldn’t find anything about him playing the violin.
The diagnosis of ‘autism’ at the age of 3 raises a few eyebrows. It isn’t exactly stable to diagnose it under the age of 4, but then again, the USA is different and everything can be diagnosed if it is not within the norm of normalcy.
Well I actually trawled through all of the interviews of the kids. What struck me, was that they were all answering questions I wouldn’t even know where to start off with. They’re all an amazing bunch of kids, and it’s saddening to see that university and college fees are enough to do them in, and presents obstacles to their futures.
Shane wasn’t out to brag or blow his own trumpet. He acknowledges that his weakness is that he doesn’t think on his feet. He’s just so incredibly unassuming - as are his parents. I love the way they sum him up: ‘he has a heart as big as a basketball’. So I had to cast my vote for him.
If he doesn’t get it, I really hope he gets a chance to study sports. It’s very rare to see a kid who is so selflessly empathic and focussed on helping others.
I got that piece of information from my co-worker. Maybe he didn’t want his profile to make him look like a nerd. Thanks for voting folks.