This year, our Michael Service Award was given to an entire family for the first time ever. Andrew, Angela, Brendan, Maya, and Ryan exemplify the value of helping with head, heart and hands. Here is the speech that seniors Julian Slesar and Ryan Fontanez gave during their Send-Off Ceremony:
Hello everyone, thank you all so much for coming! My name is Ryan, and my name is Julian, and we are speaking on behalf of the class of 2020 and the greater LCWS community. Every year the senior class gets the opportunity to present the Michael Service Award to a member of our community who exemplifies the value of helping with head, heart and hands. We recognize them for their exceptional dedication, generosity and support of the Lake Champlain Waldorf School. This year’s recipient is an individual who has been a part of our community for fifteen years. Throughout this time, he has consistently shown up and taken on tasks simply because they needed to be done. He does this without being asked, and without looking for thanks. You have all seen him (impossible to miss with his bright reflective jacket!) working the parking at the Holiday Fair, and other events. This undoubtedly is not the most exciting job, but one that needs to be done, so year after year he is out there in the sun, rain, snow, or even that happy Vermont mixture of all three.
At the end of events such as basketball and soccer banquets, when everyone else is leaving, this individual is still there washing dishes, sweeping and mopping, and taking out the trash. He is behind the scenes in this way at many of the events. When most of you think of the Spring Benefit, you probably just think of the beautiful singing and pleasant evening. What you might not know is that it takes some people staying till 2 AM putting away chairs, breaking down the risers, and cleaning the building. This individual has shown his constant support on these late-night clean ups for years.
For each of his three children’s senior trips, he has been an integral part of the fundraising. In his early days he spent grueling hours painting houses, weeding gardens and stacking wood (He probably logged more hours than some of the kids!) By our class, we had found a much easier way of fundraising in the form of parking cars. He was again a tireless contributor and leader.
On a personal level, he has taught me the importance of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice. Throughout my entire life, he has shown me what it means to be a father and a man, by always being there for his family, and supporting them no matter what. He has made me the person I am today and will keep shaping me my whole life.
It is for all these reasons, and many more, that it is our pleasure and honor to present my father, Andrew Fontanez, with the 15th annual Michael Service Award.
And it is my honor to say that in addition to Andrew, this year’s Michael Service award is actually going to be awarded to the entire Fontanez Coyle family. Andrew, Angela, Brenda, Maya, and Ryan. Ryan, I know this is not what you think I’m supposed to be saying, but to say it like a Waldorf teacher: ahh you must cultivate the ability to live with uncertainty.
The exceptional work and dedication from your family as a whole has inspired the school to award this year’s Michael Service award to your entire family, something we have never done before.
I’ll start by talking about Angela. Angela takes care of everyone as if they were her own children. I have a memory from about sixth grade that I think shows this quality well. For those of you who don’t know, there’s this time at the end of the summer that all faculty children dread: Work week. Work week is when all our parents are working but school has not yet started so in grade school this basically meant a week of lurking around the school. During work week, Angela drove to the school, picked me and Nick up, and brought us to the fair. And as if that wasn’t already enough, I’m pretty sure she paid for both of us. I should also mention that at the time, they were living an hour away in Fletcher. This kind of act is common from Angela. She hosts students with a long commute regularly. She also hosts me even though I don’t have a long commute, I just like playing board games and video games with Ryan. Angela is as grateful as she is generous. While she continues to support our school (by volunteering at events, hosting and welcoming students, and so much more) she never stops expressing her gratitude for our community. An extreme example of this never failing gratitude, was when Ryan was the unfortunate victim of a potato cannon science experiment gone wrong. She wrote to the school after this incident, not to express anger that the accident had happened, but to thank the teachers for taking such good care of Ryan.
In Brendan’s time at Waldorf, he consistently showed up for class fundraisers, student panels, and volunteered at other events. And like his dad, Brendan could be counted on to stay to the bitter end. I did not overlap with Brendan in high school so I know him more as an older brother to Ryan, as well as leader on the battlefield of Fortnite Island or in COD, but that’s less relevant today. Clara and Laura witnessed more of the traits that I am describing. Similarly to Andrew and Angela, Brendan does the work simply for helping the community, not asking for praise. He also will speak up to uphold the community standards. In addition, as a young alumnus, he wrote a beautiful letter to our whole community in support of our annual giving campaign, expressing his gratitude for his LCWS education.
Maya built community at our school. She formed deep friendships across classes, which not only must have been reassuring for the younger girls who undoubtedly looked up to you, but also helped build a stronger community. My mom was the class sponsor for Maya’s class, and from what I have heard, Maya played a lead role in the fundraising work for her class. And in true Fontanez Coyle style, she stayed at school into the middle of the night handprinting gnome shirts for her class to sell. I can only imagine it was a tedious process. And after carrying more than her fair share of the “weight” leading up to the trip, she literally carried more than her fair share on the actual trip. Maya would consistently carry extra group gear, to lighten the load of the packs of her classmates. I have heard the same for Brendan, and I have witnessed this to be the case with Ryan.
That brings me to Ryan. You are a leader. The most obvious example of your leadership is with sports. During the soccer and basketball seasons, we could count on you to hype the team up. Your commitment and enthusiasm for the team were essential for us this year. You are someone we can always count on. Our sports teams counted on you this year to lead. Our class counts on you. You are there to fundraise, set up events, carry extra weight (win win really, we get lighter packs and you get more of a workout) and you also motivate us like you do the soccer and basketball teams. You rally us up for doing fun things together. This leadership is another form of service to our school community. You are also someone I can count on. Since first grade, you’ve been there for me when I need you.
As a whole family, you have been here for this community. Lisa Espenshade recognized this about your family about four or five years ago, and since then, a plan has been in the works to present this award to the Fontanez Coyle family, when their last kid, Ryan, was graduating. Every one of you has this incredible generosity and dedication to our school. Whenever something needs to be done, you are all there. For all the numerous events, you volunteer your time. When our school was having financial trouble last summer, all of you donated – all five of you – and even your grandparents!
Thank you, Angela and Andrew, for cultivating such strong values in all of your children, and thank you, all five of you, for exemplifying the spirit of service and love for our school that we honor with this award.
It is my true pleasure and honor to present the 15th annual Michael Service Award to the Fontanez Coyle Family: Andrew, Angela, Brendan, Maya, and Ryan.