The Wall of Fame

There's one door in the whole school that is completely covered. Assistant principal Will Dowdell didn't start collecting stories until last year, but his collection has quickly grown. The stories are spilling out onto the wall beside his door and into his room.

It all started last year when he met then senior Molly Maroney. "Normally people want to connect with other people because they're athletes. I connected with Molly as a student, then found out she was an athlete," says Mr. Dowdell.

He found out Maroney was an athlete when a full-page story about her came out in last year's November edition of the Rampage. Now, you can find that story in the center of Mr. Dowdell's door. Maroney has moved on and is now playing lacrosse at LeMoyne. "Pretty soon I'll take the ones on the wall down and put up knew ones this year."

Mr. Dowdell continues to put up each story to encourage kids to keep up the good work. Many athletes such as Brandon Triche, Dajuan Coleman, Lamar Kearse and Steve Thompson have made the wall.

Unlike a yellow traffic light, it does what it's supposed to. "Once you go on the wall people recognize you, and you have to act as a role model because now you're known." It's true: last year an article was written about the new arrival of Thompson and Coleman. Mr. Dowdell posted that article on his wall and soon the school knew of them and how they contributed to the basketball team.

So what does it take to be on the wall of fame? "You gotta be a Red Ram," says Mr. Dowdell. "If you're a Red Ram that meets all the requirements." Mr. Dowdell had students visiting from Henninger and they asked him why they weren't on the wall when they made the paper. "I told them it's because they don't go to JD," Mr. Dowdell laughs.
With Triche playing for Syracuse University and Coleman being ranked in the top ten of his class in the country, Mr. Dowdell says it's a good feeling to know that we found them first. "I like to recognize kids for what they do."

One may think that the wall is all about athletics, but that is not true. Inside his office he has a bulletin board of academic achievements. "I like to recognize everyone for what they do," says Mr. Dowdell "Whether it be athletics or academics."
Mr. Dowdell's wall of fame is great for the kids at Jamesville-DeWitt High School. It gives student athletes and students a chance to have their hard work recognized. As for this year, Mr. Dowdell can only surprise us for who's going to appear on his office door.

"There's nothing like knowing that you have someone so special in your school."