Gerry and the Titanic

April 15th is the 100^th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the passenger liner the Titanic.

In one of our earlier posts, I wrote a story about a StarShine student named Gerry and his fascination with the story of the Titanic. When I read an article about this April being the 100^th anniversary of that event, I began thinking about Gerry again.

Gerry came to StarShine as an 8^th grader.  He was an insecure boy with a terrible stuttering problem. Three years later, he had recovered from his stuttering problem, and was elected student body president. He graduated from StarShine with honors, and went on the attend Phoenix College and on his own, with little resources, travelled extensively. Gerry has since graduated from Phoenix College with a degree in General Education. He is currently taking classes at Scottsdale Community College and planning to transfer to NAU to further his education in Hotel/Restaurant Management.

Gerry Dragan

Gerry and I connected when he first came to the library and asked for a book on the Titanic. He was fascinated with the story of the huge passenger liner.  Not having a book on the Titanic in the library, I decided to buy a copy of Clive Cussler’s book, “Raise the Titanic” and give it to him as a gift. The following Christmas, Gerry gifted me with a copy of Cussler’s latest novel, signed by the author with a special note to me. 

I still keep in touch with Gerry, and once interviewed him, about his travels and life after StarShine. The interview will appear in the book - Kids Without Stuff.  Gerry is one of the many remarkable students I have had the good fortune to meet at StarShine.

If you would like to read, or re-read, the first post check out Raise the Titanic on our blog

I will always remember the story of the Titanic and Gerry.

By Lois Jamieson

If you enjoyed this inspirational Kids Without Stuff story about the StarShine Alumni, you will want to read:

A Memory from the Past

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