(original article by Erin Kelley / Rappahannock Times – edited for the Web by Paul Vosteen)
Following Andrew Reavis’s death, friends and family have turned their focus from the tragedy of his sudden departure to remembering the positive impact of his short life. A 20-year-old junior at Virginia Military Institute, Andrew died while duck hunting in a marshy area behind his father’s Cold Cheer home, on Jan. 3.
Andrew was an avid sportsman. He enjoyed untold hours hunting and fishing on the river and creeks surrounding his home.
“He really liked bird hunting,” Andrew’s father, Bill Reavis said. “I still remember going into Dick’s [sporting goods store] to get him a pair of tennis shoes and coming out with a shotgun.”
It was exceptionally cold the morning Andrew died, and the water was even colder. Reavis said he believes his son died of hypothermia after accidentally getting wet while placing his decoys.
Reavis described his son as an intelligent, caring young man whose potential to shape the world and the lives around him had only just begun to be tapped.
“He had a unique ability to relate to people,” Reavis said. “It didn’t matter if the person was three or 83, he just had a connection with them.”
Andrew’s mother, Beth Arthur, said Andrew showed an ability to connect with people from an early age. She said his younger cousins anxiously awaited opportunities to spend time with him.
“They always just loved Andrew because he would play with them,” Arthur said. “From the time he was young he was always caring for people.”
Thanks in part to this ability to relate to people, Andrew was one of four juniors selected to serve on the “rat disciplinary committee” at VMI. The committee, overwhelmingly composed of seniors, is responsible for supervising the freshman students. Andrew had been selected to lead the committee next year.
It was not unusual for Andrew to be placed in leadership roles.
A 2008 graduate of Essex High School, Andrew was only 12-years-old when local resident Joanne Ruffa decided she would one day tap Andrew’s leadership potential for Jacob’s Ladder.
Founded twenty years ago, Jacob’s Ladder brings expanded opportunities to a small, diverse group of exceedingly gifted children whose family or financial situations might otherwise prevent them from achieving higher levels of academic success.
Fifty-some children from Virginia and North Carolina, identified by their schools as gifted and chosen during an extensive interview process, attend the organization’s camp for the month of July each year. Participants may begin the summer after their fourth grade year and attend each year until they enter high school.
For up to five weeks, the camp offers these students enrichment classes and recreational activities. Called ‘climbers’ the students also benefit from a network of supportive volunteer teachers and young adults pushing them towards fulfilling their academic and social potentials.
“They’re surrounded by strong role models who are reminding them day after day that they have what it takes to go to college,” Ruffa, a counselor for the organization, said. “It’s just opening another door for them that they might not have without Jacob’s Ladder.”
Although it is a faith-based organization, Camp Director Jordana Spencer said the group does not take children’s religious backgrounds into consideration when making decisions on acceptance.
“We don’t discriminate against anyone,” Spencer said. “We’re not in the business of converting anyone either.”
Climbers pay nothing for the program. Their families are required only to get them to the annual camp, held on the grounds of a private girl’s school in southern Virginia.
The organization boasts a healthy success rate. Ninety-three percent of climbers have gone on to college. And the list of colleges they attend includes some impressive names: Brown, Stanford, Dartmouth, University of Virginia, William and Mary and Boston University among others.
“We make a big difference in the lives of a small number of kids,” Ruffa said. “We’re in the business of changing lives.”
Former climbers remain devoted to the program. Many come back after high school to serve as resident advisers (RAs) during their college years.
Other RAs are recruited from outside the organization.
Ruffa and Jacob’s Ladder Director Aubrey Hall visited ACDS for a career presentation about the organization.
“At that young age, he was already exuding leadership qualities: good manners, citizenship, responsibility, respect,” Ruffa said when she spoke at Andrew’s funeral. “He always cared for others. He loved unconditionally. He was the best example of how we hope our climbers will turn out.”
Andrew worked at the camp for a full month in 2009 and a week in 2010.
“Relatively speaking, his time with Jacob’s Ladder was brief. But his impact was huge,” Ruffa said. “He touched so many lives in so short a time. It’s hard to imagine how far his influence would have reached had he lived.”
In addition, Andrew traveled with a group of Jacob’s Ladder alumni on a 10-day service trip to Guatemala last August.
The group painted a school, distributed hygiene kits and worked on construction projects in the poverty-stricken country.
Wherever they went, Andrew made an immediate connection with the local children Spencer said.
“He had the ability to know when to be serious and when to be silly,” Spencer said. “The children just loved him immediately.”
Reavis said the people of Guatemala had an equal impact on Andrew.
“The trip to Guatemala really affected him,” Reavis said.
Andrew came home with a new goal. He planned to serve one tour with the Marines and then turn his attention to what he believed was his calling, to work with at risk kids. But he hadn’t decided specifically how he would proceed.
“He knew he would work with children in some capacity. Maybe a school counselor, maybe a coach, or something else,” Arthur said. “He just figured out that was his calling and whatever he had to do to achieve that he would.”
Spencer said Andrew expressed gratitude for his connection with Jacob’s Ladder for helping him find his path.
Several months before Andrew’s death, he recorded a nearly prophetic entry in his journal on the birthday of a family friend who had died suddenly.
“No matter what, death comes to all who walk this Earth,” Andrew wrote. “When it comes it may be unexpected, however it was planned by the Lord. No matter how bad the hurt, stick by your Lord, for he will stay by you. Without the Lord who are we? Christians need to not fear death, for Jesus has gone before you to prepare the way.”
Arthur said her son’s journal entry has helped her in her own grieving process.
“It gives me peace,” Arthur said. “He had an understanding that this was God’s will.”
Since his death, many of the people whose lives Andrew touched have become active supporters of Jacob’s Ladder.
“It’s been astounding the number of donations that have gone into Jacob’s Ladder in Andrew’s name,” Reavis said. “That rascal had an impact.”
Reavis said he will travel with the group to Guatemala this summer. He and Andrew had planned to take the trip together.
On Oct. 30, a group of Andrew’s friends and classmates will run the Marine Corps Marathon in his honor. They are currently soliciting runners to train and participate. They have 25 tickets to sell, with proceeds benefiting Jacob’s Ladder, which has been named a MCM charity partner. For more information or to take part contact Jordana Spencer at 804-445-6761.