Mr. Gentile has taught me many life lessons I will carry with me forever. He has touched so many of our lives over the years including mine. He was kind, courageous, brave, and adventurous and most of all he had a big heart. Having a big heart is one of the most important traits of Mr. Gentile that has encouraged everyone else to also have a big heart in everything they do. I myself am one of these people who followed in Mr. Gentile's footsteps and made it a goal in life to also have a big heart. One way that I have helped others is through volunteering. Throughout my high school career volunteering has truly become a crucial part of my life. Most students at Bethel Park High School look at volunteering as something they are forced to do for a club or they volunteer just to get into NHS. However, I have truly grown to love volunteering. Any time I am given an opportunity to volunteer for something I always take it. One of my absolute favorite volunteer experiences was when I got to cook and serve dinners to the homeless men at the YMCA downtown. This experience has taught me so much. It has taught me to be grateful for everything I have been given in my life and to always help others in need. Being able to serve the men healthy and bountiful fresh meals and seeing how their faces lit up and how grateful they were; is the moment when I found that I love volunteering. After this experience, I started taking up all volunteer opportunities offered at school and in the community. One way that I have helped my peers in school is through DECA. DECA is a competitive business and marketing club at the high school. Throughout the years DECA has been a big part of my life and opened many doors for me to better my future. As the president of DECA this year I was put in a position where I was a mentor to the underclassmen in the club. In my role, I made sure to always be inclusive and never make any of them feel left out or that they do not belong. I started doing extra practices for competitions with the students one-on-one and helping them through they're journey. I also helped judge practice competitions with them to help the students become better adjusted and feel more comfortable presenting to another student rather than a teacher. As a part of DECA, we also have a school coffee shop that I work at every day. In the coffee shop, we work together with the students who have disabilities in the store. While working with the students I made them feel included and equal. I was also able to teach them skills for having a job one day by practicing at our school coffee shop. Another time I helped others to feel included was the other day at work. I work at Evey True Value Hardware as a cashier and always help customers on a daily basis. There is one customer with autism that comes into the store very often and we always make sure to make him feel included and equal. He came in the other day and thanked us so much for always treating him like everyone else and not making him feel different. It made me feel so good that he felt included at the store. In conclusion, Mr. Gentile has made a huge impact on my life and helped me to develop a big heart.