BHS students turns gun safety into scholarship

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

For Anna Sommers, a moment during a presentation on April 22 proved she could make a difference.

Presenting a program on the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe program at Lyons Elementary School to kindergarteners through third grade, Sommer saw one student tell off a classmate who was goofing around.

“This is serious,” Sommers recalled the one girl saying.

“Those three words prove the difference I made by talking with the students about this difficult subject,” said Sommers, who presented the program at the school with the help of Burlington Area School District Superintendent Peter Smet, City of Burlington Police Lieutenant Mark Anderson, Sergeant Brian Zmudzinski, Officer Dan Hayes and Sue Mosher, the principal at Lyons.

In return, Sommers received a $1,000 Grand Scholarship from the Friends of the NRA.

Sommers was selected in 2013 to attend the NRA “Y.E.S.” program for high school sophomores and juniors in Washington, D.C. The trip was funded by Friends of the NRA, and Sommers got a chance to use military equipment and train at Quantico, Virginia.

While she was there, she presented on a topic and participated in debate teams. Scholarships were given out then, but Sommers didn’t earn one.

However, she decided to do the extra work and apply for the Grand Scholarship. It involved up to nine months of work to organize a project that would show Sommers’ commitment to NRA programs in her community.

She chose the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program, which teaches students that, if they see a gun, stop.

“Don’t touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult,” Sommer recalled. “It does not sway one way or the other on the subject of guns, encourage NRA membership or involve actual guns.

“It simply teaches children how to react if they come across a gun.”

When Sommers made the presentation, she knew she had made an impact.

“As the day went on, I noticed how excited these students were to talk to me about gun safety and how to stay safe,” Sommers said. “The message really sunk in.”

Sommers found out later that she received the scholarship from the organization.