By Colleen Wald
ANN'S CHOICE RESIDENT
When Jim Semmel recites some of the volunteer work he’s involved in— active member of Newtown Presbyterian Church (he and his wife Marilyn perform in the hand bell choir), Ann’s Choice Ambassador and Helping Hand, Davis School Reading Buddies volunteer—a vivid image of the Energizer Bunny may pop into your head.
He laughs heartily at the idea and says, “Well, I’ve never been tagged that, but I guess it fits. Our car is out of its parking spot more than it is in it.”
A natural fit
Semmel has been active in the Centennial School District Reading Buddies Program since 2005 and works with Mr. Mahoney’s fifth graders helping them with reading and math.
When asked why he gives time to this project, his answer is simple: “I love kids. Going there is very rewarding—it just makes me feel good. Isn’t that what we’re here in life for, to do for others?”
It’s a small wonder that Jim is a natural at working so well with youngsters. After growing up in Lancaster and graduating high school in 1949, he thought about going to Penn State for electrical engineering “because I had a girlfriend whose father was an engineer,” he says.
But he soon realized that career path wasn’t for him and enrolled in the music program at West Chester State Teachers College. “It wasn’t long,” he chuckled, “until I knew I didn’t have the ear for tuning violins so I switched to elementary education.” After a two-year stint in the military, he returned, enrolled at Rutgers, and received his master’s degree in education.
Semmel taught school for six years and was a South Jersey elementary school principal for twenty-seven years until he retired in 1992. “I commuted from Pennsylvania and rode over the Burlington-Bristol Bridge from the time they charged a nickel,” he muses. “I didn’t want to go any further (with volunteering) than the elementary age because you lose contact with them.”
The ‘greatest reward’
He adds, “The greatest reward you can have in education is to see the kids grow up and be successful.”