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Iraqi freedom veteran speaks at PSHS
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Iraqi freedom veteran Robin Anderson stood and spoke to the students of Poland Seminary High School about his time in the military. Anderson, a Salem alumnus, told stories to the students of when he was in Iraq, Somalia and various other regions of the word while on active duty.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Poland choir students performed the national anthem before introducing Robin Anderson on Nov. 11. The Poland Seminary High School hosted a Veterans Day assembly for the students.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Robin Anderson walked through the crowd of Poland Seminary High School students after his speech. He answered any questions the students had for him. Anderson was very interactive with the students.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The Poland Middle Scool band sat patiently between songs listening to Robin Anderson. The band performed for another Veteran's Day assembly the previous night and recreated their performance again for the PSHS assembly.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Poland Seminary High School invited veteran Robin Anderson to their school Veterans Day assembly on Nov. 11. Anderson, an Iraq and Somalia veteran, was the special guest speaker at the morning assembly.
The assembly started out with the Poland Middle School band performing, followed by the choir performing the national anthem. One of the students was able to give an introduction to the other Poland Seminary High School students about Robin Anderson. Anderson soon took the stage and began his speech.
Anderson is an alumnus of Salem High School. During his time in high school, he always wanted to go to West Point but enrolled in the military upon graduating. His dreams of going to West Point eventually came true when he attended West Point for graduate school.
The stories being told by Anderson caught the students’ attention very quickly. He spoke about how he was shot twice while on duty. Not all of Anderson’s speech was serious, however, and he spoke about the humorous times he had while he was enlisted. He also spoke about his family and different trips he was able to go on.
After Anderson finished his stories, the students and guests were given an opportunity to ask questions. Students posed a variety of questions, such as “how do soldiers adapt to everyday life after returning from a tour?” to “how does it feel to get shot?”
“For our school community to be able to honor those folks that are protecting what we have and what’s most valuable, which is the ability to come to school everyday, to rest our head on a pillow and know we’re safe,” said high school principal Kevin Snyder on what he enjoys most about hosting these assemblies.