After watching and helping his sister win a courageous battle with kidney cancer, Gabriel Rodrigues, whose family also benefited from support of the community, wanted to pay that kindness forward.
The Piscataway High School senior spent the last two years as a volunteer at Sunrise Day Camp, a free full summer day camp for children who are receiving cancer treatment or are in remission, and their siblings.
At the age of 16, Gabriel had the option to enjoy a carefree summer as a camper or to volunteer and assume the responsibilities of supervising groups of children. He chose the latter, serving as a sport and craft volunteer at the camp where his younger siblings Giselle, whose cancer is now in remission, and Jane, were campers.
As captain of the varsity soccer and wrestling teams and an outstanding student who was able to overcome adversity, Gabriel has been named a recipient of the Marisa Tufaro Foundation Greater Middlesex Conference Student-Athlete Scholarship.
“I have witnessed Gabriel’s tremendous growth and development, not only as a player, but also as an individual,” Piscataway High School soccer coach Dave Hilgert said. “He has been a leader, always reliable and consistent. I was amazed to see his ability to face adversity and become the heartbeat of the team.”
In addition to being a member of the National Honor Society and of the World Language Honor Society for Spanish and French, Gabriel maintained an outstanding GPA while also serving as the high school’s Chess Club president and Piscataway’s upperclassmen DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) representative.
“He was able to manage this in a time when his sister Giselle was diagnosed with cancer,” Hilgert said. “Gabriel did not look for sympathy or special treatment. Gabriel would be at practice all morning and visiting his sister each night. He took on many different roles for his family, too. Throughout this difficult time, Gabriel’s limits and commitment were challenged. However, as a coach, I never noticed. I believe it taught him how to remain strong and independent through incredibly difficult situations. In addition, it gave Gabriel a deeper understanding of what it means to be a responsible, mature young adult in the real world.”
Others recognized Gabriel’s special qualities. He was recently named Piscataway’s male GMC Scholar-Athlete recipient and also received the New Jersey Wrestling Officials Central Chapter Scholar-Wrestler Award.
On the wrestling mat, Gabriel was a district champion, region runner-up, conference tournament finalist and mentor to younger sister Jane, a 10-year-old who recently won her third consecutive state title at the New Jersey State Girls Wrestling Championship.
The biggest champion in the family, however, is its youngest member, Giselle, who at the age of 6 was diagnosed with Stage II kidney cancer. She served as a constant source of inspiration to Gabriel.
“The community banded together and helped us get back on our feet,” Gabriel wrote in an essay that accompanied his scholarship application. “Without them we might never have gotten through to this side of the struggle.”
An overwhelming desire to give back provided the impetus for Gabriel’s volunteerism at Sunrise Day Camp, where his first day commenced with an hour-long bus ride from St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, from which Middlesex County children departed for the Staten Island camp.
“He was a bus counselor with the role of supervising children on the ride into camp,” a representative from the camp wrote in a scholarship letter of recommendation on Gabriel’s behalf. “As those children came off the bus, they had huge smiles on their faces and were ready to have even more fun at camp. Gabriel instantly became a favorite among all of our campers due to his positive energy” and “breathtaking enthusiasm.”
“As the summer went on, our supervisory staff noticed that many campers would get off their bus and immediately ask, ‘Is Gabe here yet?’ So many children could not help how large their smile was whenever Gabriel was around them. If Gabriel saw any child crying or with a frown on their face, he would go over to them immediately to try to console them with his words or by doing something embarrassing in an attempt to make them laugh.”
Gabriel, who remains an active volunteer at Sunrise Day Camp, was able to help campers move past their own limitations while coping with or expressing a gamut of emotions ranging from joy to fear and sadness.
Gabriel also took some time for himself to attended a weeklong camp at Rutgers Business School. He will study International Business at New York University Stern School of Business. The multiple honors classes and five Advanced Placement courses Gabriel took in high school have prepared him for the rigors of college.
“Gabriel has impressed me with his creativity, determination and ability to adapt to strenuous extracurricular activities while maintaining a rigorous full academic workload,” one of Gabriel’s teachers wrote in a letter of recommendation on his behalf.
“Gabriel is exceptionally responsible and volunteers to jump in and help out with any task from the mundane to the challenging. He blends a well-organized, task-oriented style with the aforementioned sense of self and sensitivity to the needs of his fellow peers.”