Hall of Fame Inductee Visits Patrick

Hall of Fame Inductee Visits With Patrick Students!

Football legend shares his stories of adversity

Patrick students recently enjoyed a rare opportunity to meet Pro Football Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler III! Butler played 12 seasons in the National Football League, spending his entire career with the Green Bay Packers. More importantly, he shared his story of growing up in poverty, overcoming bullying, and his love for teachers! As a partner with United Way, he is taking a grassroots approach in his “Butler vs. Bullying” campaign which brings teachers, parents, and families together to discuss, in an open microphone format, the social problems that derive from bullying. Several students got to spend time with him after his speech.

Several young men enjoyed some personal time with Butler after the all-school assembly.

t Continued From Page 1 A Gift Beyond Compare

from being able to initially design the device, they were an integral part of the input team as the need for changes in the design arose). “You know when there is a will, there has to be a way,” emphasized Weaver. “Nehemiah had the will to play, Mr. Dean had the will to help him do so and I was determined to find a way.” Nehemiah was involved with the band during his middle school years but was unable to continue as a freshman due to scheduling conflicts, so he decided to join the guitar ensemble class as an alternative. “My mom works in the evenings,” explained Nehemiah, “so it is hard for me to be in the band after school.” However, his participation in the guitar ensemble class allows him to stay involved in music. “Interestingly,” said Dean, “The history of the guitar is of a device that has been adapted many times. We saw the guitar change from the Baroque guitar into what it is today with the designs of Antonio De Torres. In fact, Eddie Van Halen was always making adaptations to his guitars. He reimagined it often throughout his career.” The guitar Nehemiah uses in class was Dean’s personal instrument. “I added a strap,” said Dean, “and changed the nut and the saddle of the guitar so that it could be played left-handed. When someone plays the guitar, you have to think about all points of contact. You want him to have forgiveness, so that he can vary dynamically, to play softer or harder.” Dean explained. Both instructors worked closely with each other, Nehemiah, and the engineering students to design an effective, assistive device that would provide an enhanced playing experience. “My daughter is a Music Therapy major at Cleveland State who is concentrating on voice and guitar,” Weaver explained. “So I reached out to her and also to Nehemiah’s physical therapist, Dona Brown, during the development phase. They were both able to provide good feedback from the therapy side.” After a few trials, a few errors, and three different prototypes, a final design was given to Nehemiah to use. “This device helps Nehemiah with accuracy, to play melody and harmony,” said Mr. Dean. “He wouldn’t have been able to interact with the music in the same way without it.” Weaver smiled, saying, “That’s what we [engineers] want to do - design things that make people’s lives better.” *The Guitar Ensemble is a year-long class that has approximately 20 students currently enrolled. As a performance-based class, students will participate in the Holiday Concert on December 13th at 6:30 p.m. at Umstattd Performing Arts Hall, The All-City Strings Concert on Feb 28th at 6:00 at Umstattd, and a spring event in May.

Guitar instructor George Dean works with freshman musician Nehemiah Culver

This device designed by Weaver and his pre-engineering students allows Culver to hold a pick.