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age:19 When he saw a problem no one was willing to fix, P .T. Meadors decided it was up to him to do something. When P .T. was in high school in 2 0 18 , tensions were high after a shooting took place at a high school in P arkland, Fla. L ooking back, he remembered shooting and bombing threats at L akeland High School and no sophisticated protocol in place. He recalls the side doors remaining unlocked and no one at the front doors to monitor who came in. His classmates were scared, not coming to school and pulling out for homeschooling. Across the country, students were leading walkouts to promote safety in their schools. Seeing that no one at L akeland was doing anything, P .T. decided to act as well. “I’ve always been interested in leadership,” said P .T. “Generally, it was the way I was brought up — do something, don’t complain about it. If something needs to be done, and if no one else will, I’ll do my best.” While planning, he included teachers and school board members in the decisionmaking process to ensure that the event would be impactful. On that day, 6 0 0 students left their first-period class and went to the gymnasium. There, P .T. gave a speech, along with elected officials. “Soon after that, we saw more resource officers, the doors locked and more protocols going in throughout the next school year,” he said. “It
‘If something needs to be done, and if no one else will, I’ll do my best.’ really felt like my goal had been accomplished.” Following the walkout, P .T. saw that he could do more for his community. With midterm elections approaching, he realiz ed many seniors were not registered to vote or didn’t know about the candidates. He set up a two-day forum where candidates for Senate, District 4 , school board and city council could answer q uestions the students had and give the students a chance to register to vote. L ined up to attend were Tim Kaine and other significant candidates. Sadly, Hurricane Florence made an appearance, canceling the event, but P .T. was still grateful for the experience. Today, P .T. is 19 and still doing his part to make a difference. He is the freshman representative at Washington and L ee U niversity and is part of other leadership organiz ations and advocacy groups. He has no declared major yet but wants to do what he can to help others. — Rac h el W ar t ian
P.T. Meadors
What is one of your favorite hobbies? Water coloring What do you like to do in your free time? Go on hikes
