Youth in Focus

By Richard A. Ross

	TRR photo by Laurie Stuart Eli Rasnick, Senior, Livingston Manor Central School.

When I found out this past week that Eli Rasnick had just won the Sullivan County Visitor’s Association coveted TOAST award, I was delighted and impressed. Eli was a student of mine at Livingston Manor in both my English class and communications class. I always found Eli’s unusually mature and candid perspective to be refreshing to say the least. His sophisticated insights into the events and trappings of the world at large struck me as thoughtful and noteworthy.

In another vein, it seems as if Eli’s work for the past three years at Catskill Morning Farm also impressed its owners Gerard Ilaria and Steven Wilkinson. So taken, in fact, by his demeanor and treatment of customers were they, that they nominated him for this award.

The Sullivan County Visitors Association TOAST award is given to an individual whose efforts have enhanced tourism and consequently helped to nurture business in the county. The recipient of the award must be a person who has helped to promote good rapport with visitors to our county as well as with local clientele. Apparently, Eli fit the description perfectly. In their nominating letter, Ilaria and Wilkinson lauded Eli as follows: “From the very first day, it was clear that Eli was a very serious, very earnest worker.” After describing Eli’s ascendance from greenhouse and garden center worker to cappuccino bar attendant, busboy and waiter, they went on to say, “Customers quickly recognized his desire to please, his clear sense of purpose in his work and the quiet dignity in his demeanor.”

A number of Catskill Morning Farm’s customers concurred and attested to Eli as a repository of great information on local geography, directions to and from points of interest, hiking trails and swimming holes. One customer, Christopher Andreola who has been a steady patron of Catskill Morning Farms said, “I have seen him handle difficult situations with skill, tact, and patience. He’s always happy to give someone information about local activities and displays an excellent grasp of the store’s wide product selection.” This year, Eli won this award hands down.

On a personal level, Eli is a captivating and extremely unusual teen. While this Youth In Focus column has seen its share of athletes, musicians, an Eagle Scout and a cadre of fine students, Eli represents an entirely different dimension. In my view, his uniqueness is a function of a highly developed social consciousness. Eli attributes this awareness and involvement with issues such as the environment and the world political situation to his upbringing in a home where the importance of these things was always discussed and emphasized. Beyond the influence of home, Eli has advanced his view of the world as a result of his own efforts and research. He loves history and is quick to point out that much of the world’s current dilemmas are a product of things that happened before. Unlike many teenagers who seem more concerned about the present, Eli takes the longer view, regarding how American actions and the actions of its allies may have contributed to the current misery in the Middle East. Eli just completed a course at Sullivan County Community College in western civilization. He plans to continue with the sequel to this course in the spring.

Eli feels that people need to express their views. According to him, “Once you stop talking, violence begins.” He feels that this increase in violence is evident in schools, our communities and the world at large. He also feels that many young people are too preoccupied with media diversions such as computer, video games and entertainment. These influences interfere with their access to, and consideration of the significant events going on around them.

Eli has two older sisters, Jessica, who is now teaching English in North Carolina, and Amanda, who is living in Providence, RI. They are both quite a bit older than Eli who has had to assume the “man of the house” role since his dad’s untimely death when Eli was only eight years old. Both girls are graduates of Livingston Manor School and former students of mine as well. Intelligence and insight clearly run in the family.

A great lover of Bob Marley and reggae music, Eli did a presentation in class last year in an attempt to make his classmates aware of Marley’s unusual talent and musical influence. Eli’s taste in music is not limited to reggae, but is in fact quite eclectic.

Eli is currently unsure about his plans for next year but feels that he may start out at a community college, preferably out of the area. To judge Eli on the basis of his high school transcript alone would be missing his essence. Unlike other students who boast extremely high grades, Eli’s would appear to be average. This week’s youth in focus is anything but. In fact as both his employers and his former teacher would concur—Eli is exceptional.