After almost ten years I still remember Scott like I just saw him on the hall yesterday.  Every time I tell a new group of kids about Scott I can't help but choke up, and yet there's no sadness because I don't let the pain of his loss overcome the joy of his life.  I choke up because I'm overwhelmed with joy.  Knowing how Scott would feel to see how much better a place our school is now because we used his life to inspire us to do something so positive and so special.

The ropes course is called a challenge course because it challenges us to face and overcome our fears.  It challenges us to reach out a hand to help a stranger become a friend, to see how much better our world can be when we see ourselves as part of a team working together.

Scott lived with a joy that was infectious, he never met a stranger, and he had a smile and a high five for everyone. Even at the end when he could hardly make it through the day, he always mustered a smile and  did everything he could to make every kid feel that someone cared -  because he did.

 I wish Scott were still here - but every time some kid walks across that catwalk with shaking knees and tears in their eyes, and ends with a big smile on their face - he is with us.
By John Pearson (Ropes Course Facilitator and Friend)