A College Athlete's Act of Kindness

 

 

 

Last week some Florida State football teammates were visiting Montford Middle School in Tallahassee, Florida. One of them, Travis Rudolph, a wide receiver of the Seminoles, decided to break for lunch and when he noticed a young boy sitting alone he asked if he could join him.

This simple gesture could have gone unnoticed except that someone took a picture of them and sent it to the boy's mother Leah Paske. She was overjoyed and posted the picture on the Web. Junior High can be a scarey place for many students but is even more so when that person is “different” than his peers … and her son Bo would fit that description because he is autistic.

This story really touched my heart because my granddaughter Faye has Asperger's Syndrome, which is a type of autism, and she will be going into Junior High this week. She is such a loving and sweet girl but she is not your typical young teen and her folks and I pray that she will be accepted for who she is.

When Rudolph was interviewed he said he saw that Bo was alone so he asked if he could sit with him and he said “Sure”. That was the beginning of a lively conversation with Bo heading it off and telling him how much he loves the Seminoles….and, guess what? The next day Bo was surrounded by class mates at lunchtime.