Spartan Scuttlebutt:
Spartan of the Month - Students as Teachers
By Greg Smith OAKMONT ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

This month's Spartan of the Month honor is shared by two outstanding young men. Last week "Scuttlebutt" profiled Christian Kinsley. This week, the "Scuttlebutt" is focused on Chris Streeks.

Streeks was nominated for October Student of the Month because he volunteered his time and expertise to teach new computer skills to the Oakmont faculty during professional development day. But Streeks' willingness to share his technology savvy with others goes way beyond a one-day commitment. He's helped at least six teachers at Briggs and Oakmont develop classroom Web sites and he serves as a computer troubleshooter for both teachers and students in computer trouble.

Now in his senior year at Oakmont, Streeks plans to attend either Pratt Institute or Fitchburg State College and study Information Technology and Graphic Design. One day he hopes to become a Web site developer, manage servers or work in computer network administration. In fact, Streeks has already had his first successful professional Web development project.

"I designed a Web site for a computer programming company," he says with pride, "and they paid me for it."

Not surprisingly, Streeks finds that his favorite classes at Oakmont are those that involve computers.

"The best courses are Computer Art courses," he said. "It's fun to make something totally original, print it out, have people critique it and say, 'that's pretty cool."

Streeks' mentor and guide in the world of computer art is Oakmont teacher, Larry Szalay. "He taught me a lot of things that thought I already knew and furthered my graphic design abilities," Streeks said. "Mr. Szalay is outgoing but relaxed, and he explains things well. His class is a fun place to be. It's a good creative atmosphere.

Streeks, who is the son of Anderlene and Patrick Streeks of Ashburnham, is a mentor and role model himself for his four younger brothers. In addition to his computer work, Streeks is the co-leader of the percussion section of the Oakmont Marching Spartans. He also finds time to run the sprinting events on the indoor and outdoor track teams.

Perhaps Streeks' greatest strength is his upbeat personality.

"What I like about Chris is that he's always happy, always smiling, always positive," says Oakmont Dean of Students Brian Sargent.

They say that some people can light up a room with a smile, but October's Co-Spartan of the Month, Chris Streeks, is a young man who helps to light up a whole school with his generosity, warmth, and yes, his unmistakable smile.