Girl, 11, patroller of year
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Julia Robb, 11, on patrol duty even with a broken toe at Carnegie Elementary School. The fifth-grader has won the National Safety Patroller of the Year award from the AAA, as noted on the school's announcement board.
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A fifth-grader had a pleasant surprise when she walked out of Carnegie Elementary School at 2:55 p.m. Monday and looked at the marquee sign on the front lawn:
"Congratulations Julia Robb -- National Safety Patroller of the Year."
"That wasn't there this morning," Julia, 11, said, as she smiled with delight. But then she got right down to business, making sure "the bus-ers" got on the correct yellow bus and then making sure the walkers stayed on the sidewalks.
Julia is one of 11 students in the entire country to win the award from AAA, which is celebrating the 90-year anniversary of the AAA School Safety Patrol. There are 585,000 patrollers like Julia in 30,000 schools across the United States.
Julia, daughter of Gerry Robb of Carnegie and Marcy Robb of Mt. Lebanon, won the award because of "her leadership qualities, safety skills, school involvement, citizenship and volunteerism," according to a news release from AAA East Central.
Part of her prize was a trip last week to Washington, D.C. She was accompanied by her mother and by art teacher Diane Criste, patrol sponsor at Carnegie Elementary, which is part of the Carlynton School District.
Julia and other safety patrollers are in good company.
Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were patrollers as well as Vice President Joe Biden, Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner, former Chrysler Corp. chairman Lee Iacocca and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.
The trip was educational, Mrs. Criste said, with an itinerary that included visits to Arlington National Cemetery, the National Zoo and the World War II memorial.
Julia was especially impressed with the nighttime tour of the Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington monuments.
Mrs. Criste, who nominated Julia for the award, said Julia's duties include monitoring elementary school students who walk to school in the morning, ensuring they use crossing guards to get across heavily traveled Washington Avenue, or Route 50.
First Published April 29, 2010 12:00 am
