Stanford Stickney marched in the Los Gatos Holiday Parade twice last Saturday. He and the other four Youth Citizens of the Year led the parade, and then Stanford walked beside his younger brother with the Canine Companions for Independence. A junior at Los Gatos High School, Stanford has big dreams--perhaps attending his namesake university, perhaps becoming President of the United States--and those who know him would not be surprised to see him succeed.
"The sky is the limit," Stanford says he came to realize shortly after graduating Fisher Middle School with only mediocre grades. "You can do anything you apply yourself to. People undercut themselves, but you only live once. Even if you 'fail daring greatly,' as Theodore Roosevelt said, you'll be satisfied and content when you die."
Most high school students don't talk like that, but then most aren't as outgoing or as engaged, either. A Los Gatos Youth Commissioner, Stanford is actively planning events to help the people of the Darfur region of Sudan; he is the president of the LGHS German Club, ASB Chief Justice, founder of Student Athletes in the Community, a former LGHS football player, performer in the school play and spring musical, founder of the Racquetball Association of America, and he recently added the Student2Student mentoring program to his portfolio.
"I am completely overbooked," he says, sheepishly, but he joined Student2Student anyway, because its goal of students being respectful toward and helping each other resonated with him.
"Stanford is a great role model," Stanford's German teacher, Frau Young, was quoted in the Mercury News. "He is friendly, positive and extremely polite to other students and teachers." Stanford felt alone at times in middle school and is determined to introduce himself to any loner he sees at school. ("You should never be alone," he says.) His voice could be heard in the dark courtyard during back to school night at the high school, offering his help to lost parents.
Stanford, 16, was born and raised in Los Gatos, and is now living in the house his father grew up in. He has an older sister and younger brother and sister, twins, both 13. Stanford's brother has cerebral palsy and needs his canine companion for help. Stanford's father has retired from a contracting business and can focus on raising the family. Stanford credits his drive and personality to his father's unconditional love and ability to "make me think I'm thinking ideas on my own."
"I'm a happy kid," he says, sincerely. But don't think he feels like a martyr: "I'm doing these activities for myself and no one else." That includes taking remedial math in summer school, and being persistent with teachers that don't want to repeat questions--Stanford was born deaf in his right ear. He thinks some teachers don't like him, but that's okay, he'll succeed through persistence. (We weren't able to find anyone who doesn't like Stanford, for the record.)
"Smile and the world will smile back, my Dad says."
In his freshman year, Stanford told his father he needed a tutor. "School is not easy for me," he concedes. Stanford found Allen Young Ji Koh, executive director of Cardinal Education in Palo Alto. Koh studied political science and sociology at Stanford University, and his influence clearly helps Stanford think big.
Stanford works out at the Los Gatos Athletic Club as often as possible. He was a wrestler in middle school, played football as a freshman and sophomore, and recently founded the Racquetball Association of America, RAA. The Athletic Club has been very supportive, lending the team of high schoolers coach Gil Cepeda.
He has fished in Alaska with his father, and surfed off Santa Cruz. "I love sports," he says, which is why he created Student Athletes in the Community (SAC) this summer.
Some think athletes are "dumb jocks" who don't care about community service, but Stanford knows they have very busy schedules. "It's about availability," he says, "bringing the service opportunity to them." SAC gives athletes a list of projects that need doing--the group is registered with Community Unity, the Town of Los Gatos' registry of projects and volunteers--and also handles "remembering and reminding." SAC aims to make athletes winners both on and off the field.
Tutor Koh helped SAC grow quickly, with 10 initial founding schools, 8 in Silicon Valley (Los Gatos, Saratoga, Palo Alto, Gunn, Los Altos, Menlo-Atherton, Sacred Heart, St. Francis), one in New Jersey and one in Florida. There is talk of expanding into Korea and China. SAC may be the largest student club at LGHS with nearly 100 members assigned to the myriad teams, responsible for some 300 hours of community service last year. Stanford is chapter president, giving speeches to teams and other organizations. "We're trying to inspire athletes with a whole new ideology," he says.
When he was 8, Stanford traveled through India with his father, looking for alternative treatments for his brother with cerebral palsy.
"When parents say to their kids, 'there's people starving,' it doesn't register," Stanford says. "But I saw people starving. I saw lepers." He witnessed the breakdown of civilization in some places, the "lack of decency, or care for human life." He saw people who would "kill you for your shoes."
"It had a profound effect on my life," Stanford admits. "So many here don't want to think about the harsh realities of life, the bubble that we live in. We fail to realize the big picture."
The big picture, believe it or not, for someone so involved and active, is a focus on academics. His GPA has risen from 3.6 to 3.9 and he is taking aim at a 4.0. (SAC Vice President Jimmy Zhang is working on a 5.0--Stanford surrounds himself with high achievers.) He earned the second-highest grade in his summer math class and thinks he has close to an A+ in his regular math class right now. Stanford spends time on his homework, bumping other commitments if necessary.
"If you can do it, homework is easy points," he says.
Stanford went to New Orleans in mid-November to attend the National League of Cities' Congress of Cities conference, along with then-mayor Joe Pirzynski, councilmember Diane McNutt, Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Sgt. Randy Rimple, and others from the town and the Youth Commission. He appreciated learning what lessons other cities had learned. ("Why remake the wheel when you can borrow it?" Stanford paraphrases.) One surprise was that some in New Orleans see Hurricane Katrina as a blessing--the storm blowing the city clean of entrenched corruption.
Stanford surely "thinks globally"--he has given a 10-minute speech on the topic, "How to Cure World Hunger." Ask him for the details, but it involves applying money to underlying problems rather than reacting to famine and other crises.
Students Taking Action Now Darfur (STAND) is another of Stanford's causes. Taking his cue from English teacher Kurt Kroesche's student effort in 2006, in which Stanford and nearly 50 other students raised $6,000 by fasting and camping on the high school lawn, Stanford hopes to do better this year, working through existing organizations and inviting local Sudanese immigrants, known as the Lost Boys of the Sudan, to address a possible schoolwide assembly in the Spring.
Stanford hopes to study political science in college, possibly Stanford University. He enjoys engaging people, spreading information and courting consensus. Leadership. Diplomacy. Stanford smiles as he recounts one definition of diplomacy: the ability to tell someone where to go in such a way that they enjoy the trip.
"I learned to shake hands when I was 3," he says, smiling, "and I've been doing it ever since. I make friends wherever I go."
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