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Adam Roybal Receives Swanee Hunt Youth Leadership Award.

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Elvis, Birthday Cakes and Volleyball Make a Difference for Colorado Middle School

Ask Pete Monroy about team building, and he'll tell you about volleyball. Every Friday morning, he and his maintenance crew at Sterling Middle School in Sterling, CO report to the gym for a short game of volleyball. Aside from being just plain fun, Pete has another purpose, saying, "a crew that can play together becomes closer, and that builds a positive working relationship."

As the custodian for Sterling Middle School, Pete takes pride in keeping his school safe and clean. But it's not his eye for neatness that sets him apart, it's the special things he does for students and staff in the school that make him an asset-builder. It's thoughtful things like giving each staff member a cake on their birthday, or buying women staff members a carnation on Mother's Day that build community. "We recently mentioned, in passing, needing a cart for our overhead projector in our classroom. A custom-made one appeared two days later," says Sandra Gibson, a teacher at Sterling.

Pete, or "Elvis" as the students affectionately call him, involves himself in the school lives of the students, encouraging them to excell and correcting inapropriate behavior when necessary. He is a positive adult influence for the young people of Sterling Middle School.

We applaud Pete for helping build a caring community in his school.

Visit Sterling Middle School's web site.