LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Eugene Parson was nominated by his colleague, Hannah Thompson.

"I work as a school nurse at a middle school. There is no way that I can do my job on my own, especially without Eugene Parson," said Thompson. "Eugene helps everybody. He is the first person everyone sees in the morning. As he directs foot and car traffic with his stop sign, he is joyous and singing a cheerful morning song. He not only sings to you in the morning, but greets you with a fist bump, handshake or an elbow bump on rainy days.

"If students are injured or suffering from an illness, Mr. Parson joins me," said Thompson. "If they are on the ground or unable to stand, I can depend on Mr. Parson to help me lift the student to a safe place. He is the first to sign up for my CPR training classes."

As the security officer, Mr. Parson is the first to meet with misbehaving students. He's frequently the first person to see that a student may be crying for help. He is an advocate for mental health and helping create responsible functioning adults. Many former students come back to thank Mr. Parson for helping them get on the right path. Mr. Parson never holds a grudge; he believes students can learn from their mistakes and is the first to forgive.

Last year, on November 30th, 2018, Alaska was hit by a very large earthquake, and Colony Middle School was severely damaged. Mr. Parson was a true leader, assisting in evacuation and finding a safe way and location to re-enter the building. Mr. Parson hopped from teacher to teacher and employee to employee, helping in whatever way he could to keep the school and students safe.

"I am so very grateful that Mr. Parson is on my team," said Thompson. "He makes our school a better place and gives us the security of knowing we are safe when he is here."