Billy Rubino talks about his time at Douglas High School on May 25.
The superficialities of high school can be difficult to shake off for
those teenagers trying to become adults. There's drama, posturing,
pettiness.
But there's nothing fake about Billy Rubino's smile. It cracks wide, stays bright as he walks, and seems to warm anybody he passes in the hallways of Douglas High School.
“Don't let the drama and all the pressure get to you,” he said. “Just go about your day with a smile on your face.”
Billy is a 21-year-old student who is graduating as a Tiger tonight on the school's softball field. Not only will he be receiving his diploma, he will be speaking during the ceremony, joining a handful of classmates who made it through speech auditions.
He has good reason to be speaking. Anyone who talks to Billy can't help but smile.
“His smile is his signature,” said DHS speech therapist Enid Webb. “If I'm having the worst day, I look at Billy, and life is good. There are adults who don't get what he gets. He's beyond his years in understanding when it comes to appreciating life. He's had such an impact on students and teachers alike.”
“He worries more about cheering up others than himself,” added Kelly Lusardi, special education department chair.
Billy knows his smile is a valuable resource.
“When you smile at someone, every person feels good, and they want to do more,” he said. “It's contagious. It makes people who are having a bad day have a very good day.”
Smiling is easy for Billy. It's his most natural feature. Speaking, however, is little more difficult for the young man. The fact he's giving a graduation speech is more impressive when one considers his childhood.
Billy didn't go to school until he was 10. The early years of his life were rather rough. He and his older brother created their own language to cope with reality. Because they didn't have any formal education, no storybooks, no ABC's, they developed their own system of signification that involved some verbalizing and some signing with hands.
“We used some words to represent things,” said Billy. “And gestures. We used our hands a lot. My brother and I were left alone so much that we had to create our own language to understand each other.”
Lusardi said it's a remarkable phenomenon.
“He once told me he would dream and think in the language they created,” she said.
When he was 10, Billy and his brother were placed in a foster home in Alpine County. Soon after, Billy started the first grade at Diamond Valley Elementary School. He was 11. His brother, four years older, was placed in the third grade.
“We used our own language briefly. We started speaking a little better,” Billy said. “I got picked on and teased. Instead of being mean, I took that as, ‘I can do better.'”
For ninth grade, Billy went to Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School. He was 18.
“I handled that very well. I met a lot of new people and made good friends,” he said. “I was sociable.”
It wasn't until Billy came to Douglas High that he felt fully accepted. He started running cross country as a sophomore and has run every year since. He tried track, but it didn't work out.
“Track and me never got along,” he said with his trademark grin. “I loved it here. There were a lot of people I didn't know, but I got to know them over the course of the years.”
Billy quickly fell in love with Douglas High's culinary arts program. He decided he wanted to be a chef. In fact, he's working as a bus boy and dishwasher at the Stonefly Restaurant in Markleeville. He's already been throwing dough and cooking pizzas.
Billy also has a tendency to ride his bike long distances, a single-gear bicycle. When he needed to study for the High School Proficiency Exam, he rode all the way from Markleeville to Minden.
“It's 28 miles,” he said. “Fifty minutes to get down here, and one hour and 20 minutes to get back up. That's the new record I have to beat.”
Preparing for graduation, Billy is somewhat of a rockstar on campus. He's shared his speech with some student groups and staff members, and he draws wild applause wherever he goes.
At the same time, he knows his success has not come easy — he's had to work hard for it.
“Do your best and always turn in your homework on time,” he said. “Don't quit what you're doing. Try to look for the brightness in people.”
But there's nothing fake about Billy Rubino's smile. It cracks wide, stays bright as he walks, and seems to warm anybody he passes in the hallways of Douglas High School.
“Don't let the drama and all the pressure get to you,” he said. “Just go about your day with a smile on your face.”
Billy is a 21-year-old student who is graduating as a Tiger tonight on the school's softball field. Not only will he be receiving his diploma, he will be speaking during the ceremony, joining a handful of classmates who made it through speech auditions.
He has good reason to be speaking. Anyone who talks to Billy can't help but smile.
“His smile is his signature,” said DHS speech therapist Enid Webb. “If I'm having the worst day, I look at Billy, and life is good. There are adults who don't get what he gets. He's beyond his years in understanding when it comes to appreciating life. He's had such an impact on students and teachers alike.”
“He worries more about cheering up others than himself,” added Kelly Lusardi, special education department chair.
Billy knows his smile is a valuable resource.
“When you smile at someone, every person feels good, and they want to do more,” he said. “It's contagious. It makes people who are having a bad day have a very good day.”
Smiling is easy for Billy. It's his most natural feature. Speaking, however, is little more difficult for the young man. The fact he's giving a graduation speech is more impressive when one considers his childhood.
Billy didn't go to school until he was 10. The early years of his life were rather rough. He and his older brother created their own language to cope with reality. Because they didn't have any formal education, no storybooks, no ABC's, they developed their own system of signification that involved some verbalizing and some signing with hands.
“We used some words to represent things,” said Billy. “And gestures. We used our hands a lot. My brother and I were left alone so much that we had to create our own language to understand each other.”
Lusardi said it's a remarkable phenomenon.
“He once told me he would dream and think in the language they created,” she said.
When he was 10, Billy and his brother were placed in a foster home in Alpine County. Soon after, Billy started the first grade at Diamond Valley Elementary School. He was 11. His brother, four years older, was placed in the third grade.
“We used our own language briefly. We started speaking a little better,” Billy said. “I got picked on and teased. Instead of being mean, I took that as, ‘I can do better.'”
For ninth grade, Billy went to Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School. He was 18.
“I handled that very well. I met a lot of new people and made good friends,” he said. “I was sociable.”
It wasn't until Billy came to Douglas High that he felt fully accepted. He started running cross country as a sophomore and has run every year since. He tried track, but it didn't work out.
“Track and me never got along,” he said with his trademark grin. “I loved it here. There were a lot of people I didn't know, but I got to know them over the course of the years.”
Billy quickly fell in love with Douglas High's culinary arts program. He decided he wanted to be a chef. In fact, he's working as a bus boy and dishwasher at the Stonefly Restaurant in Markleeville. He's already been throwing dough and cooking pizzas.
Billy also has a tendency to ride his bike long distances, a single-gear bicycle. When he needed to study for the High School Proficiency Exam, he rode all the way from Markleeville to Minden.
“It's 28 miles,” he said. “Fifty minutes to get down here, and one hour and 20 minutes to get back up. That's the new record I have to beat.”
Preparing for graduation, Billy is somewhat of a rockstar on campus. He's shared his speech with some student groups and staff members, and he draws wild applause wherever he goes.
At the same time, he knows his success has not come easy — he's had to work hard for it.
“Do your best and always turn in your homework on time,” he said. “Don't quit what you're doing. Try to look for the brightness in people.”
via Record Courier
Thanks so much for sharing Billy's story. Stories like this put things back into perspective. It's all about how we choose to handle a situation - choosing to be a victim or a survivor.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he's had some amazing people around him through his journey and am equally sure he has been that amazing person to others.