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CRAIG O’NEILL Meet Craig O’Neill, THV 11 news anchor, champion of children’s literacy, and longtime EAST supporter. Recently Craig shared how his connection with EAST began and how he has celebrated it for over 20 years. In addition to loving literacy, Craig is a sports enthusiast, and his position as ESPN Outdoors host on ESPN 2 in the early ’90s led him to his connection with EAST. According to O’Neill the weekday morning show featured EAST students twice as they studied water quality issues in Greenbrier, Arkansas — the city where EAST originated. There to talk about fishing and how water quality affects it, O’Neill and his team were introduced to a group of EAST students working on water samples and recalls: “I was awestruck by their knowledge and their enthusiasm to share their knowledge. It was amazing to feel that energy. It’s the type of energy that makes you want to get plugged into whatever they are doing and learn more!” Having been aware of EAST since its inception through his good friend Dr. Mary Prentis — a consultant for EAST — O’Neill recalls the work he saw early facilitators do throughout multiple school districts testifying and selling EAST to leaders in education and policy. “The teachers selected were different. They were called facilitators, very appropriate for what was taking place; they worked tirelessly to tell the world how great and unique EAST was. It is difficult to put into words the magic that
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Each day they would look at those students and say I believe in you and I am going to trust that your imagination and your knowledge are enough to solve problems. And they still do today.
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happens in EAST, but they did. I believe that each day they would look at those students and say I believe in you and I am going to trust that your imagination and your knowledge are enough to solve problems. And they still do today.” O’Neill went on to say that the same energy and enthusiasm he experienced in 1996 has been consistent during numerous visits to EAST programs. He felt that energy the strongest when he attended EAST Conference. “Conference is like a science fair on steroids! To see that many students come together, grab you by the elbow and engage you about whatever they are learning or whatever problem they are working to solve is so lifechanging!” When asked what he has observed over the years about the students and facilitators, O’Neill shared that he knew
