FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – A fifth grade pupil in Freehold Township has been recognized for his role in helping to maintain safety at his school as a member of the AAA School Safety Patrol.
Nate Raguseo, a fifth-grader at the Laura Donovan Elementary School, was honored as part of the Outstanding School Safety Patrol by AAA Mid-Atlantic. He was presented with his award by Frank Neary, a traffic safety and community educator with AAA, at the school on May 1.
Neary said Nate was one of eight students in New Jersey who were recognized in the Outstanding School Safety Patrol. To commemorate his achievement and service, Nate was presented with a plaque and a $100 Visa gift card.
The AAA School Safety Patrol program is in its 99th year, having been created in 1920. The international program seeks to help students learn and fulfill leadership roles. In the United States, more than 654,000 children participate in the program, according to AAA.
Neary described the program as being whatever is necessary for the schools that implement it and said its participants are typically the oldest students in the school. The members of the School Safety Patrol at Laura Donovan are fifth-graders, who are school’s oldest pupils.
Nate said his duties involve helping and keeping track of kindergarten pupils after the school day ends. Working with the other members of the patrol, he makes certain the pupils who participate in the YMCA Aftercare program are accounted for and leads them to the classroom where the program is held after the school day ends.
“Winning kind of surprised me,” Nate said. “It’s a rare award that not a lot of people win. To hear that my friends nominated me was really nice. This has also been a little overwhelming, but it’s interesting to see the full process of getting the award.”