teen spotlight
photography by Jennifer Photography
stats
17, Senior at Florence High School
notable
Vice-President of FFA; Organizer of Service Project for The
Healing Place; BEST Robotics Certificate Winner; Florence
Golf, Baseball, Basketball Team Player; Volunteer at Hospice of
the Shoals and Morningside Assisted Living
quotable
Joshua lives by the FFA motto : “Learning to Do, Doing to
Earn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.”
how it began
Since winning the Cub Scouts Joyful Servant Award in
elementary school Joshua has been looking for new ways to
help others. For the past few years, Joshua has been collecting
toys for less fortunate children during Christmas. In 2014 he
organized and implemented a project to benefit The Healing
Place in Muscle Shoals, AL, collecting items to help children
dealing with the deaths of family members. He also volunteers
his time to assist the Hospice of the Shoals and Morningside
Assisted Living.
Joshua is the Vice-President of the FFA and he has
participated in several robotics competitions. What has
inspired Joshua to accomplish so much in his life so far? He
stated that his grandfather inspired him to work hard, and his
uncle taught him “It’s never wrong to do right, and it’s never
right to do wrong.”
what’s next
Joshua plans to pursue a career in the field of Agriculture, and
maybe even run his own farm someday.
joshua pannell
PG (parental guidance) rating
Joshua has been encouraged by his parents to follow his dreams
and reach for what he is passionate about.
Florence, AL
parents’ perspective
When asked what they admire most about their son, Joshua’s
parents replied, “Joshua cares about other people, and he has
integrity. He always tries to do his best and put God first. He has
shown how he cares about others by going on trips during the last
several summers to help the less fortunate with home repairs has
collected toys for less fortunate children at Christmas time. He
finishes what he starts. If he doesn’t know how to do something, he
finds out how to do it and finishes it.”
parent-to-parent
Throughout Joshua’s life, his parents “tried to teach him
there are consequences for his actions, both positive and
negative, and that he has to be man enough to handle the
consequences.” Joshua’s parents advise other parents to encourage
their children, saying that “if the child is encouraged when they do
right and they are corrected when they do wrong, they will be able
to face life as an adult. Give them both roots and wings.”
22 |
Spring 2016
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