Stories of inspiration, bravery or heroism
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New Mexico Teacher Who Disarmed School Shooter Hailed As 'Hero'
By ANDREA BILLUPS
01/15/2014 at 09:15 AM EST
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20776087,00.html
Students reunited with families after school shooting in Roswell, N.M.
MARK WILSON/ROSWELL DAILY RECORD/REUTERS/LANDOV
Social studies teacher John Masterson went above and beyond his classroom duties Tuesday when he talked a 12-year-old boy into putting down his weapons after the student went on a morning shooting spree at his school.
His bravery in disarming the shooter at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, N.M., is being praised by both the state's governor and law enforcement, after Masterson intervened in the shooting, which injured two youths, including one critically, CNN reported.
"It's one thing for an armed state police officer to enter a school and do his or her job," said Pete Kassetas, chief of the state police. "It's another thing for a teacher, staff member to intervene in the situation like this."
Masterson, a veteran teacher and also a coach of track and soccer at the school, walked right up to the boy, a 7th grader, as the youth held onto a loaded .20-gauge shotgun, asking him to drop the weapon after the boy had walked in, pulled the weapon from a bag and brazenly opened fire in the gym.
John Masterson and his wife Lea
ROBERTO E. ROSALES / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL / ZUMA
The teacher was later joined by another school staff member, who sustained minor injuries in the shooting. The staff member denied medical treatment in order to comfort frightened students who were cornered by the gunman inside the gym.
The shooter, identified in media accounts as Mason Campbell, remains in police custody.
"Mr. Masterson … was a hero … who stood there and allowed a gun to be pointed right at him, and to talk down that young boy to drop the gun so that there were no more young kids hurt," New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said in praising the teacher.
Masterson praised others when contacted by the Albuquerque Journal about the incident, which Martinez said lasted about 10 seconds. "It was a harrowing experience," he said. "All I can say was that the staff there did a great job."
The victims were identified as Kendal Sanders, 13, who was listed in satisfactory condition Tuesday night after surgery, and an 11-year-old boy, whose name was not released. He underwent two surgeries and was listed in critical condition with injuries to his neck and faceCNN reported.
By ANDREA BILLUPS
01/15/2014 at 09:15 AM EST
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20776087,00.html
Students reunited with families after school shooting in Roswell, N.M.
MARK WILSON/ROSWELL DAILY RECORD/REUTERS/LANDOV
Social studies teacher John Masterson went above and beyond his classroom duties Tuesday when he talked a 12-year-old boy into putting down his weapons after the student went on a morning shooting spree at his school.
His bravery in disarming the shooter at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, N.M., is being praised by both the state's governor and law enforcement, after Masterson intervened in the shooting, which injured two youths, including one critically, CNN reported.
"It's one thing for an armed state police officer to enter a school and do his or her job," said Pete Kassetas, chief of the state police. "It's another thing for a teacher, staff member to intervene in the situation like this."
Masterson, a veteran teacher and also a coach of track and soccer at the school, walked right up to the boy, a 7th grader, as the youth held onto a loaded .20-gauge shotgun, asking him to drop the weapon after the boy had walked in, pulled the weapon from a bag and brazenly opened fire in the gym.
John Masterson and his wife Lea
ROBERTO E. ROSALES / ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL / ZUMA
The teacher was later joined by another school staff member, who sustained minor injuries in the shooting. The staff member denied medical treatment in order to comfort frightened students who were cornered by the gunman inside the gym.
The shooter, identified in media accounts as Mason Campbell, remains in police custody.
"Mr. Masterson … was a hero … who stood there and allowed a gun to be pointed right at him, and to talk down that young boy to drop the gun so that there were no more young kids hurt," New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said in praising the teacher.
Masterson praised others when contacted by the Albuquerque Journal about the incident, which Martinez said lasted about 10 seconds. "It was a harrowing experience," he said. "All I can say was that the staff there did a great job."
The victims were identified as Kendal Sanders, 13, who was listed in satisfactory condition Tuesday night after surgery, and an 11-year-old boy, whose name was not released. He underwent two surgeries and was listed in critical condition with injuries to his neck and faceCNN reported.
[video=youtube;f0H6slvAGfc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0H6slvAGfc[/video]
[video=youtube;uT8HpHgOtXg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT8HpHgOtXg[/video]
[video=youtube;Ovkcv5U7Wm4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovkcv5U7Wm4[/video]
[video=youtube;uT8HpHgOtXg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT8HpHgOtXg[/video]
[video=youtube;Ovkcv5U7Wm4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovkcv5U7Wm4[/video]
[h=1]Nepalese Girls in Group Home Cook for Over 3,000 Earthquake Survivors[/h] 42.1kSHARES
Reprint
http://www.people.com/article/nepal-earthquake-unatti-foundation-girls-cook-community
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Unatti girls delivering bags of rice in Nepal
Nepal’s Unatti Foundation
By Erin Hill
@erinhillny updated 04/28/2015 AT 05:55 PM EDT
•originally published 04/28/2015 AT 02:30 PM EDT
Here's a story of hope amid the devastation and destruction following the earthquake in Nepal.
In the Kathmandu valley, a group of 20 young girls are handing out first aid kits and cooking rice and lentils for the thousands of displaced earthquake survivors in their community.
These brave young women are part of the Unatti Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing food, shelter and education for orphaned and underprivileged children of Nepal.
Despite being in the center of where the massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit on Saturday, everyone that is a part of the Unatti Foundation, which includes five employees and 20 girls (ages 4-20), is safe.
"We were all in the music center at the Unatti home when the earthquake hit," Ramesh Pradhananga, the executive director of the Unatti Foundation, tells PEOPLE. "We quickly ran outside to an open space and everyone was safe."
Stephanie Waisler-Rubin, a Los Angeles-based commercial photographer who founded the foundation in 2002, was terrified for her friends and employees in Nepal when she woke up to news of the earthquake.
"About four hours after the earthquake hit, I was able to get contact on cell phones to assure that everyone was accounted for," she says.
Over the past 48 hours, Waisler-Rubin has been able to mobilize funds and aid for the community since she already had channels of operation in place.
"All of my employees are doing community service efforts, putting up tents, buying rice and lentils, and the older children in our care are cooking for over 3,000 people in the Kathmandu valley," she says.
Nepal’s Unatti Foundation
"Our area was hit pretty heavily, and everyone has been weathering the night outside in open rice and vegetable fields as they're fearful of going into their homes," she says.
"They don't have seismic experts on the ground yet to be able to tell people if it's safe or not," she adds.
For his part, Pradhananga has taken on the role of food distributor in the community while they anxiously wait for government aid.
"Our girls are cooking and helping," he says. "Every morning I put sacks of rice in my car and drive to every spot in the area and ask how many sacks of rice people need. I'm really proud about what we're doing – and of the Unatti Foundation, because it gave me the chance to do all these things."
In addition to cooking for the community, the group is supplying first aid kits and even medical treatment.
"I have a lot of Girl Scout troops doing silver and bronze projects in the [Los Angeles] area, and they donated first aid kids and medicine," she says.
"By chance, I had just dropped off a couple hundred pounds of donations when I was there two and a half weeks ago," she says. "We're lucky to have that."
One of Waisler-Rubin's oldest group home members, a 20-year-old woman who is three months away from graduating from nursing school, is offering her services to those in need.
"She went from being a child who was sold by her mother to be a dishwasher to a full-fledged nurse," she says. "She's out there now with her stethoscope, helping."
Waisler-Rubin says all donations to unattifoundation.org are going directly to immediate emergency earthquake relief.
"Our focus is making sure our girls are safe," she adds.
"They have a purpose now – they're helping their community," she says, "and they feel like they're making a difference."
Reprint http://www.people.com/article/nepal-earthquake-unatti-foundation-girls-cook-community
0 Comments subscribe now
Unatti girls delivering bags of rice in Nepal
Nepal’s Unatti Foundation
By Erin Hill
@erinhillny updated 04/28/2015 AT 05:55 PM EDT
•originally published 04/28/2015 AT 02:30 PM EDT
Here's a story of hope amid the devastation and destruction following the earthquake in Nepal.
In the Kathmandu valley, a group of 20 young girls are handing out first aid kits and cooking rice and lentils for the thousands of displaced earthquake survivors in their community.
These brave young women are part of the Unatti Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing food, shelter and education for orphaned and underprivileged children of Nepal.
Despite being in the center of where the massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit on Saturday, everyone that is a part of the Unatti Foundation, which includes five employees and 20 girls (ages 4-20), is safe.
"We were all in the music center at the Unatti home when the earthquake hit," Ramesh Pradhananga, the executive director of the Unatti Foundation, tells PEOPLE. "We quickly ran outside to an open space and everyone was safe."
Stephanie Waisler-Rubin, a Los Angeles-based commercial photographer who founded the foundation in 2002, was terrified for her friends and employees in Nepal when she woke up to news of the earthquake.
"About four hours after the earthquake hit, I was able to get contact on cell phones to assure that everyone was accounted for," she says.
Over the past 48 hours, Waisler-Rubin has been able to mobilize funds and aid for the community since she already had channels of operation in place.
"All of my employees are doing community service efforts, putting up tents, buying rice and lentils, and the older children in our care are cooking for over 3,000 people in the Kathmandu valley," she says.
"Our area was hit pretty heavily, and everyone has been weathering the night outside in open rice and vegetable fields as they're fearful of going into their homes," she says.
"They don't have seismic experts on the ground yet to be able to tell people if it's safe or not," she adds.
For his part, Pradhananga has taken on the role of food distributor in the community while they anxiously wait for government aid.
"Our girls are cooking and helping," he says. "Every morning I put sacks of rice in my car and drive to every spot in the area and ask how many sacks of rice people need. I'm really proud about what we're doing – and of the Unatti Foundation, because it gave me the chance to do all these things."
In addition to cooking for the community, the group is supplying first aid kits and even medical treatment.
"I have a lot of Girl Scout troops doing silver and bronze projects in the [Los Angeles] area, and they donated first aid kids and medicine," she says.
"By chance, I had just dropped off a couple hundred pounds of donations when I was there two and a half weeks ago," she says. "We're lucky to have that."
One of Waisler-Rubin's oldest group home members, a 20-year-old woman who is three months away from graduating from nursing school, is offering her services to those in need.
"She went from being a child who was sold by her mother to be a dishwasher to a full-fledged nurse," she says. "She's out there now with her stethoscope, helping."
Waisler-Rubin says all donations to unattifoundation.org are going directly to immediate emergency earthquake relief.
"Our focus is making sure our girls are safe," she adds.
"They have a purpose now – they're helping their community," she says, "and they feel like they're making a difference."
Fiction, but Lord of the Rings.
Damn, that's some inspiration to keep hope.
Real stuff, not brave or heroic. But extremely inspirational:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyBvbot3emM
Damn, that's some inspiration to keep hope.
Real stuff, not brave or heroic. But extremely inspirational:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyBvbot3emM
[h=1]Sgt. thrives after hate crime[/h][h=2]Her own hard work, Air Force support, get life back on track[/h][h=6]Jun. 20, 2013 - 06:00AM |
0 Comments[/h]
By Markeshia Ricks
Staff writer
[h=5]Related Links[/h]
If Ross William Muehlberger had his way three years ago, Staff Sgt. Deondra Parks wouldn’t be here.
She would never have been an aerospace medical technician and she would not be in the Air Force she loves.
Muehlberger marked her for death when he saw the African American airman studying at a Wichita Falls, Texas, coffeehouse with friends on the evening of April 20, 2010.
The 22-year-old pulled a 12-gauge shotgun from behind his back and said to Parks, “Hey n-----r, it’s Hitler’s birthday.”
Muehlberger opened fire on Parks, her study buddies and one other woman — three of them black, a fourth Hispanic — leaving all of them wounded.
Three years and four surgeries later, Parks is back at work as a medical technician at the 88th Medical Group, Wright-Patterson Medical Center, Ohio, and working on her sports and health sciences degree at American Military University. She hopes to be an occupational therapist.
She shares her recovery with fellow airmen and veterans.
“The Air Force is big on resilience and the ability to bounce back from any unfortunate event or setback in life, whether it’s a tragedy, a death or an illness,” she said. “It’s not something we’re born with. We each have to obtain the skills to do it. I didn’t always have this in me. It took me a while. Resilience doesn’t solve the problem. It’s a constant work in progress.”
[h=3]Study session shooting[/h]While Parks’ current studies to become an occupational therapist will help others overcome similar traumatic experiences like hers, it was her original security forces training that she credits for surviving the shooting.
After Muehlberger triggered his first shot, Parks made a run for cover as he fired another round at her. After she tripped, Muehlberger stood over her and blasted buckshot into her lower right leg at point-blank range.
Parks’ security-force training kicked in, as well as her survival instinct. She barely flinched, slowed her breathing and didn’t move until Muehlberger took off.
“I got the furthest of the people he targeted that night. I remember seeing tile and carpet ... and I remember trying to calm myself down to give off the appearance that I was dead,” Parks said. “I felt the bullet in my right leg, but I didn’t budge after that because I wanted to remain dead in his eyes. I didn’t want to give him a reason to continue to unload.”
It was a smart decision. Muehlberger drove to a bar and unloaded a round on the bar’s doorman, Tim Donley, a 23-year-old Iraqi war veteran, killing him. Muehlberger fled the scene, but police found him later at his home, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Parks spent 38 days recovering in Dallas — eight in the hospital and an additional 30 at the Fisher House. When she got back to Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., she was still using a wheelchair to get around. But her then-commander, Lt. Col. Troy Roberts of the 72nd Security Forces Squadron, had her come in every day so she could get back to being part of her squadron.
The two ammo cans full of rocks Roberts gave her made a big difference, said Parks, who also was treated for post traumatic stress disorder.
“It was the best idea ever because it allowed me to keep my upper body strength,” she said. “I had a metal rod drilled into my leg from my femur to my ankle, but I did water aerobics and swam for [physical training] to get my leg back as strong as I could.”
If Parks could confront Muehlberger, she would want him to face his victims and their families and see how they’ve overcome the physical and emotional pain he inflicted on them three years go.
“It was kind of like he disrupted my life,” she said. “Early on in my recovery, I accepted the reality of it. I was angry. I was hurt. I’m always going to be angry and hurt because my life is basically forever altered by this situation.”
But Parks didn’t lose her compassion. “Honestly, reading his history, I would let him know it’s OK to get help,” she said.
“I had so much support around me from my Air Force family, my family, my friends,” she added. “I had so many reasons to continue. I never thought I was in it alone.”
http://archive.airforcetimes.com/article/20130620/NEWS06/306200020/Sgt-thrives-after-hate-crime
0 Comments[/h]
- A
- A
[h=6]Staff Sgt. Deondra Parks credits her security forces training in staying calm when a stranger shot her in a bookstore in April 2010. (Margo Wright / Air Force)[/h]By Markeshia Ricks
Staff writer
- FILED UNDER
[h=5]Related Links[/h]
If Ross William Muehlberger had his way three years ago, Staff Sgt. Deondra Parks wouldn’t be here.
She would never have been an aerospace medical technician and she would not be in the Air Force she loves.
Muehlberger marked her for death when he saw the African American airman studying at a Wichita Falls, Texas, coffeehouse with friends on the evening of April 20, 2010.
The 22-year-old pulled a 12-gauge shotgun from behind his back and said to Parks, “Hey n-----r, it’s Hitler’s birthday.”
Muehlberger opened fire on Parks, her study buddies and one other woman — three of them black, a fourth Hispanic — leaving all of them wounded.
Three years and four surgeries later, Parks is back at work as a medical technician at the 88th Medical Group, Wright-Patterson Medical Center, Ohio, and working on her sports and health sciences degree at American Military University. She hopes to be an occupational therapist.
She shares her recovery with fellow airmen and veterans.
“The Air Force is big on resilience and the ability to bounce back from any unfortunate event or setback in life, whether it’s a tragedy, a death or an illness,” she said. “It’s not something we’re born with. We each have to obtain the skills to do it. I didn’t always have this in me. It took me a while. Resilience doesn’t solve the problem. It’s a constant work in progress.”
[h=3]Study session shooting[/h]While Parks’ current studies to become an occupational therapist will help others overcome similar traumatic experiences like hers, it was her original security forces training that she credits for surviving the shooting.
After Muehlberger triggered his first shot, Parks made a run for cover as he fired another round at her. After she tripped, Muehlberger stood over her and blasted buckshot into her lower right leg at point-blank range.
Parks’ security-force training kicked in, as well as her survival instinct. She barely flinched, slowed her breathing and didn’t move until Muehlberger took off.
“I got the furthest of the people he targeted that night. I remember seeing tile and carpet ... and I remember trying to calm myself down to give off the appearance that I was dead,” Parks said. “I felt the bullet in my right leg, but I didn’t budge after that because I wanted to remain dead in his eyes. I didn’t want to give him a reason to continue to unload.”
It was a smart decision. Muehlberger drove to a bar and unloaded a round on the bar’s doorman, Tim Donley, a 23-year-old Iraqi war veteran, killing him. Muehlberger fled the scene, but police found him later at his home, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Parks spent 38 days recovering in Dallas — eight in the hospital and an additional 30 at the Fisher House. When she got back to Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., she was still using a wheelchair to get around. But her then-commander, Lt. Col. Troy Roberts of the 72nd Security Forces Squadron, had her come in every day so she could get back to being part of her squadron.
The two ammo cans full of rocks Roberts gave her made a big difference, said Parks, who also was treated for post traumatic stress disorder.
“It was the best idea ever because it allowed me to keep my upper body strength,” she said. “I had a metal rod drilled into my leg from my femur to my ankle, but I did water aerobics and swam for [physical training] to get my leg back as strong as I could.”
If Parks could confront Muehlberger, she would want him to face his victims and their families and see how they’ve overcome the physical and emotional pain he inflicted on them three years go.
“It was kind of like he disrupted my life,” she said. “Early on in my recovery, I accepted the reality of it. I was angry. I was hurt. I’m always going to be angry and hurt because my life is basically forever altered by this situation.”
But Parks didn’t lose her compassion. “Honestly, reading his history, I would let him know it’s OK to get help,” she said.
“I had so much support around me from my Air Force family, my family, my friends,” she added. “I had so many reasons to continue. I never thought I was in it alone.”
http://archive.airforcetimes.com/article/20130620/NEWS06/306200020/Sgt-thrives-after-hate-crime