No Higher Compliment

Author Tops Off Black History Month at East


The students from Mr. Wagner's Certified Nursing Assistant class paid homage to Buffalo's author, Randy Camp on Thursday, February 26, 2015. Mr. Camp was treated to two skits by the students that represented scenes from the two novels that the students recently read in class. The students also awarded Mr. Camp their Annual Distinguish Helper Award for his direct influence on their lives.
The first book the students read was "Wet Matches", a novel that metaphorically deals with the emotional impact that segregation of schools had on Mr. Camp growing up in the South. This novel is packed with empathy as race is superimposed on the journey of five lost teens who are coping with self-identity confusion, and their medical diagnoses of HIV. The second novel the students read, Mr. Camp's most recent work;"29 Dimes: A Love Story", is a very engaging story of a group of close teens, and their last summer before high school graduation. The story deeply explores teenage relationship issues with excellent characters development.
The C.N.A students easily related to the multiple issues that were addressed in this swiftly moving love story where the hero is a special needs high school boy who overcomes multiple obstacles to become the star of the story by giving his life for another. The students spent 20 minutes of each class period reading out loud and then were engaged in daily writing assignments that dealt with the topic that was addressed in the book for that day. Mr. Camp's response to the event was "...there's no higher compliment for a writer than to see his characters come to life."

After the skits, Mr. Camp led the students in a round table discussion about not only the story, but the process, frustration, and challenges involved in publishing his books.
29 Dimes: A Love Story