My basketball coaches, teammates and athletic department voted and awarded me the Ray Hyser Sportsmanship Award for "the student-athlete that exemplifies good sportsmanship, fair play, team and school pride and a desire to excel both in sports and by hard work in the classroom. Other qualifications include leadership, a positive attitude not only in the game but everywhere, and a desire to excel."
Coach Comments
"Cooper ranks in the Top 5% for: Commitment to athletics, communication skills, ability to take criticism, ability to be a part of a team, willingness to accept responsibility, initiative/risk-taking, openness to new ideas, self-motivation, willingness to help others, leadership skills, organizational skills and sportsmanship."
"Cooper's character, leadership and communication skills, his high lax IQ and athleticism are super-charged by his dedication to always train, practice and play hard. He is continuously taking his game to a new level."
"Cooper - There isn't enough room on this sheet to write all I want to about you. The thing I admire about you is that YOU GET IT! You are a proven leader, Coop, People want to follow you. You are likable and engaging and continue to be yourself. Every team needs a Cooper Charlton on it! Thanks for three great seasons. It's been a pleasure coaching you."
"Cooper has a tremendous work ethic. One of the hardest working athletes that I've had at Hudson."
"Cooper optimizes what we want in this program: hard work and determination," Hudson head basketball coach Jeff Brink said. "As a sophomore, he was the last guy on the bench on the junior varsity and now he is starting as a senior. He always brings the intensity, the work ethic and physicality. When he chips in with a couple extra buckets, that's a bonus."
"Cooper moves well for a big guy. He completely shutdown (4 times) at KOH a kid who has committed to Duke."
"Cooper has been an awesome individual to coach, and one of the best teammates his buddies could ever ask for."
"I think I can speak for all the coaching staff in saying we will miss his infectious positive attitude, but we wish him the best in his pursuit of his college education."
"Cooper's greatest strength is the fact he doesn't understand how good he is. Because of this self-image he trains for lacrosse with a real chip on his shoulder."
"I thought he was the best Defensemen on the Under Armour Midwest team this summer."
"Great physical upside. 5th year of HS at The Hill Academy in Canada will be a huge advantage for him."
"Cooper has the academic and athletic facility to be a marketable Division I recruit."
"The tenacity was phenomenal and Cooper [was] relentless inside."
Teammate Comments
"Somehow everything always works out in Cooper's favor."
"Being the only captain that talked."
"COOPA! I want to publish your pre-game speeches."
"His pre-game speeches inspired me to the point I felt like I could conquer anything!"
"Great leader. Knows what to say to get the team fired up!"
"Great leader. Great player. Great brother. Really, what could be better than that? Good luck in 'ole Canada!"
Customer Comments
I met Cooper Charlton through my son's passion for lacrosse when Trent was 15. At 18 - Cooper's ability to communicate, motivate, teach and inspire are far beyond most of my colleagues who have been business owners for many years in the industry I serve.
Last summer, Cooper created a Defensive Position lacrosse camp that Trent attended because he sees Cooper as not only a great lacrosse player in the position he wants to play in college - but more importantly a great leader and motivator - the kind of guy you want to learn from and emulate. We were completely impressed and amazed at what Cooper put into this camp over the 2 weeks that Trent attended. He marketed the camp (quite aggressively), set up a professional method to register and pay for the camp online and administered and led a camp that we believe exceeded the value of most of the 'professional' camps that Trent attended (at 2x the cost). Cooper created a detailed evaluation form for each player that rated their skill level and provided a detailed 'road map' for becoming a great player and peer leader.
Cooper is a natural teacher and motivator. His ability to 'break things down', critique while constantly building the person 'up', motivate and inspire - while still holding that person accountable are well beyond his years. It's an amazing balance and quite a gift. He would make a great Coach and I believe an excellent business leader some day.
I can only imagine the things this young man will accomplish in the future. And I look forward to hearing about it!
Marylee Maendler
Sales Executive
Regional Sales Trainer
3M Unitek
Teacher Comments
October 8, 2011
October 8, 2011
To
Whom It May Concern:
Cooper
Charlton immediately stood out as a freshman because of his outgoing, friendly,
and inquisitive nature. Simply put, he enjoys
thinking through problems and issues; he loves being challenged to consider
different angles to these ideas. He has
matured into one of the most insightful students I have ever had the pleasure
of watching mature in the over four years that I have known him for reasons far
beyond his academic giftedness. It
should go without saying that he also ranks extremely high on my list of
favorite students. I first met Cooper as
a student in my freshmen English class before having him again in Science
Fiction, a senior level semester English class.
Although academically gifted, what has always impressed me the most
about Cooper is how he treats other people.
Cooper is truly the perennial “put his arm over the shoulder to help out
anyone who needs it” kind of person, in the fashion of an older brother looking
out for his younger sibling. He moves
seamlessly between social groups and just as smoothly between friends and
acquaintances, and, without knowing the difference, an outsider would never
know whether Cooper was currently with good friends or people he barely knows
at any given time. His outgoing and
generous spirit has a tremendous impact on the classroom and school
environment. Cooper also longs to be
challenged in class because he realizes the importance of learning and he truly
values education.
As a
freshman, Cooper was one of the most engaged and insightful freshman students I
have been fortunate to have in class, even though he admitted, shyly, that he
did not like to read and had not yet read a book he enjoyed. This surprised me because he did not even
like the high interest choice books that were read to balance the classics in
an attempt to engage students and hopefully help create lifelong readers. I have always appreciated Cooper’s honest and
direct nature; his no nonsense and straightforward approach makes him not only
likeable, but also very trustworthy. I
found it truly amazing that a student who did not like reading was not only
willing to read each and every book, rather than attempt to take any of the
numerous easy ways out that exist, but also the level of depth and insight that
he was able glean from each work he read.
He had excellent comprehension with all of the books we read, whether it
was Romeo and Juliet, To Kill A Mockingbird, Looking for Alaska or The Perks of Being A Wallflower. He constantly dug deeper and had astute
observations with each book. He truly
excelled, which is remarkable considering his overall dislike of reading at the
time. His willingness to spend so much
time on something he dislikes is a credit to his motivation and his work ethic.
As a
senior, Cooper had not lost any of his passion for learning—he loves to be
challenged and approaches learning as an opportunity to improve himself. One day this spring Cooper stayed in class
during lunch. During our conversation I
asked him if he enjoyed Aldous Huxley’s Brave
New World because he genuinely seemed to like it based on his comments and
insight during our discussions, which was surprising for a student who I knew
did not like reading. He consistently
asked great questions and raised excellent topics in class that showed not just
an understanding of the utopia that Huxley created, but more importantly, the
deeper meaning behind what Huxley was attempting to show the reader and the
horrific nature just beneath the surface of the utopia. Cooper consistently identified with John, the
outcast in the novel who leaves the Indian reservation he was raised on and
moves to the utopia. John represents
what would happen if a person not raised in the utopia were to move there; in
essence, John represents the reader.
Cooper, as he attempted to take Atticus Finch’s advice, “stepped into
John’s shoes” and underwent a similar evolution in thinking about the utopia. John’s journey in the novel takes him from
the wide-eyed little kid in the candy store who is amazed by all of the
pleasure and happiness so easily available in the Brave New World society and evolves as he becomes horrified when he
realizes all that is sacrificed for happiness in the utopia. John realizes, just as Cooper did, that absolute
happiness is a very expensive proposition.
Cooper’s understanding of Huxley’s extremely complex novel was far
beyond that of his peers, and his insight allowed him to truly appreciate the
novel. In the end, even with as enticing
as the utopia is on the surface, neither John or Cooper wanted anything to do
with the utopia. As an English teacher,
it is truly gratifying to see a student who not only took so much away from the
novel, but who also genuinely enjoyed and appreciated it. However, even more gratifying was when during
our lunch discussion I asked him if he still disliked reading. Cooper responded with a look on his face that
showed, just for the briefest instant, the embarrassment of youth, before he
said “I was just young and immature back then.
I didn’t know any better yet.”
His maturity and insight always struck me as being far beyond his age
and I really hope that at some time in the future he considers reading Fahrenheit 451 because there is so much
in Ray Bradbury’s novel that would speak to Cooper, especially with his level
of insight and his appreciation of complex ideas.
I
will never forget Cooper Charlton, and not just because as a freshman he told
me that he did not enjoy reading and then, as a senior, he clearly loved
discussing the complexity wrapped up in H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine and Huxley’s Brave
New World. Cooper’s freshman English
class was very altruistic and raised over $1500 to donate to charity and spent
a day volunteering at a local Head Start, working with impoverished children,
in response to reading Loung Ung’s First
They Killed My Father. Cooper
stepped up as a leader of his peers during these activities because he has
always had an appreciation for how fortunate he is to have the opportunities he
has had in life and he longs to give back, as shown by all of the volunteering
and charitable activities that he participated in throughout high school. He stands out as a leader by clearly showing
through both his words and actions what he values, whether raising money for
charity, volunteering time to those less fortunate, discussing literature and
moral issues, or whether by befriending peers and helping them as an older
brother would. Cooper, more than any
student I have had, would give the shirt off his back to help someone in need.
Cooper
Charlton is truly a unique individual who has tremendous potential to offer to
any college community. He is a very
conscientious young man who, above all else, longs to help people and connect
with them. I have had few students who
are as outgoing and likeable as Cooper Charlton. His honesty and insight help him connect and
drives his desire to learn as he consistently challenges himself. Cooper’s ability to put other people at ease
when they are with him is what sets him apart.
He is clearly someone who will continue giving back, I have no doubt, as
he has done throughout the time I have known him. He has an excellent work ethic and a
deep-seated desire for success that will lead to a very bright future, one
which I cannot wait to see unfold. He is
an extremely enthusiastic student who always has a smile on his face, even when
he is tired or worn out. Cooper combines the ability to have fun while
completing high quality work, and he truly enjoys academics and learning. His passion comes through in all that he
does. His honest,
laid-back personality can be very deceptive; he is an excellent student who
will succeed and be an asset to any college community. His sense
of humor enables him to put a positive spin on most situations, helping make
him a great studen t to have in
class. I have no
doubt that he will continue to be a determined studen t
who will successfully adapt to the college requirements and will be an asset at
whichever school he chooses to attend, and I look forward to hearing from him
in the future as he continues to find his path in the world. If you have any questions or if there is any way that I can further assist
you,
please contact me at (330) 653-3442 or kosminj@hudson.edu.
Sincerely,
Jamie D. Kosmin, M. Ed.
English
Teacher
