Teen: Youth Services put me on the right path

Editor, Townsman:

I'm writing this after my last summer trip with the Andover Youth Services. I really wanted to let people know what AYS is all about and what they do for the kids of Andover. They taught me more about being a responsible person in just four years than anyone else. They teach you things that your parents have been trying to tell you all your life, but instead of just sitting us down and talking about how to make the right choices, they teach us in such a way that we don't even know that we are learning.

As I "graduate," I am looking back on it all and I realize that what they want to do is help us make good choices and do the right thing. When I started I was immature and I was not very open to talking to other kids. I now have a much better sense of how I can be myself, help other kids and make the right choices. People may say that's because I got older, but in life even though you get older, you still need someone to direct you. AYS staff members have helped instill all these lessons in me by teaching all of us that you can be a good person, make good choices and yet still have fun.

AYS also teaches us to be a part of the community. This summer's theme was "The Power of One." They taught us that with compassion, respect, courage, action and awareness, every one person can make a difference to the group or community. To help my community I want to tell everyone to get involved with the AYS program. I am honored to have been a part of it for the past four years.

I want to acknowledge all those counselors who have taught me about how to become a better person. I would also like to thank Glenn, Tony, Suzie and especially Bill Fahey for running these great programs, because without all of them I would not have come this far and I would never have had the courage to be myself around other people and help others out.

Mark Costagliola
Belknap Drive

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AYS summer program climbs awesome heights

Editor, Townsman:

We feel compelled to write and tell you about the amazing summer experiences our children had. They both kicked off the season with a lazy tube ride along the Pemigawassett River. followed by an excitement-packed day at Six Flags, and splashed their way through Water Country -- twice.

Our 14-year-old son went to a Red Sox game, kayaked at Walden Pond and canoed down the Ipswich River. He hiked wilderness trails in New Hampshire, took a dip in waterfalls and swimming holes, and chowed down on hot dogs and ice cream to his heart's content. Ultimate Frisbee tourneys and games filled his evenings and weekends. Oh, and don't forget bobsledding on the alpine slide down Bromley Mountain in dreadlocks!

Our 13-year-old daughter surfed the waves of Hampton Beach, window-shopped until she dropped in Wrentham, and biked along the shores of Block Island. She hunted for crabs, found hidden swimming holes and paddled to sandbars at the North River, and caught a breathtaking sunset in Martha's Vineyard. She white-water rafted down the Kennebec River and camped under the stars. She mentioned to us more than a few times how proud she was to have hiked the rocky trails to the summit of Mount Monadnock.

A day of tearing down brush at the Franciscan Center, and another at Foster's Pond Island for a cleanup were also on the docket as community service projects. They have learned about giving back to their community from us, and it has been reinforced through the role models they spent their adventures with the past two summers.

Which finally brings us to the reason for our letter. They didn't experience these adventures with the family that they live with -- us, their nerdy and somewhat embarrassing parents -- but with the family they seamlessly became part of this summer: the strong, creative, accepting, friendly, hilarious and somewhat crazy members of the Andover Youth Services program.

They introduced our children to "The Power of One," the strongest, most important and powerful experience anyone could have given them. To quote the AYS staff: "All it takes is One. One life. One love. One idea to inspire others. One voice to speak up for what is right. One truth to expose the lie. One individual to reach out to another in need. One word to brighten someone's day. One friend to stand beside you. One peace to bring harmony into our world ... Compassion, awareness, courage and action. Start with those ingredients and you can't go wrong. The Power of One is all powerful. Its potential is limitless. It lies within each person and is free of charge."

If we, their parents, had said that to them, they would have laughed us into next week! But they took this lesson seriously and to heart hearing it from their older peers of AYS. Sure, the kids had fun on the trips. It wasn't just the places they went, or the things that they did. It was the important values they learned while they were experiencing the program and the people who run it -- a staff of caring, knowledgeable and highly responsible young adults led by Bill Fahey, the one who started it all. They were our children's big brothers and sisters for the summer. They know how to relate to each and every kid to make them feel welcome and a part of it all, which helps them to trust and develop healthy friendships.

We are very fortunate to have this program in our town, and its staff to touch our lives. Last year it was "Higher Ground," then "The Power of One" ... we can't wait for next year's lesson.

Kevin and Carla Byrne
5 Donna Road

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