5/10/2009 - Difference maker in the making
Emily Marie Rodgers heads to Germany before college
BY TRACY DAVIS The Ann Arbor News
Emily Marie Rodgers doesn’t have a lot of free time on her hands.
She is so busy, in fact, that she will miss her own graduation from Pioneer High School June 4.
Rodgers leaves June 2 to follow a path few of her fellow seniors are taking: She will work for a year in Germany as an au pair before applying to colleges.
Those who know her say it’s not unlike her to take the path less traveled, and that’s just the sort of thing that has made her a unique leader among her peers.
Rodgers, 17, has been a peace activist for many years, working with groups such as Pioneer’s PeaceJam and Michigan Peaceworks. She spends four afternoons a week tutoring reading students at Bach Elementary School and is active with the local chapter of AFS International, the international exchange program that her family has been involved in for many years. She spent last year in Germany, and became fluent in the language.
She also was a founder of Armistice, Michigan Peaceworks’ youth magazine.
“I love to write,’’ she said. “And I think it’s important for youth in the community to have a way to express themselves.’‘
Sharon Held, volunteer coordinator for AFS, who nominated Rogers for Young Citizen of the Year, describes Rodgers as a dynamic person and hard worker.
“I just think she is going to go places, and she is going to make a difference,’’ she said.
Rodgers started out at Bach, where she attended elementary school, working with reading groups in the school-age child care program last year. Now she tutors literacy groups there.
“For kids to take it upon themselves to do something good for other people, I think that’s an outstanding quality in a young person,’’ said Yolanda Singleton-Brown, site director and supervisor for school-age child care. “She chose to take her time and spend it here helping our kids.’‘
Phillis Engelbert of Ann Arbor, a founder and past executive director of Michigan Peaceworks, said it’s Rodgers’ confidence level that makes her stand out.
“She is not afraid to take a stand even if it is unpopular,’’ she said.
“She has a way of bringing people along with her,’’ Engelbert said. “And she is very bright and creative and charismatic, and those are all important qualities in a leader.’‘
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