Photo courtesy of William Hetherington
William Hetherington
Over the course of his high school career, William Hetherington has founded fundraisers, helped residents of less fortunate areas and worked to develop tooth decay remedies.
But the Dublin Coffman High School senior hopes one of his lasting legacies in Dublin will be starting a conversation.
On Jan. 15, Hetherington, along with fellow Coffman students Varun Madan and Kofi Amponsah, organized the inaugural Sunday Supper event at Coffman. Hetherington is co-president of Interact Club, Madan is president of Student Council and Amponsah is president of Black Brothers United, an organization for black high schoolers.
It’s not a coincidence that the event took place the day before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Hetherington describes it as a “progressive, positive community discussion celebrating our diversity.”
“I’ve always been very inspired by what Martin Luther King had to say about service, and it’s always been a really important thing in my family,” Hetherington says.
Madan and Amponsah had connected with Christine Nardecchia, volunteer resources administrator for the City of Dublin, to brainstorm ideas for a community event focused on diversity, and brought in Hetherington to help lay the groundwork.
“It’s something I believe every community should have because diversity plays a huge role in every community,” he says.
Sunday Supper started with a 20-minute introductory segment in which attendees ate and got to know each other. Organizers passed out notecards with discussion topics and encouraged attendees to talk to people they didn’t know and get out of their comfort zones.
After that, three speakers spoke for 10 minutes apiece. Then, facilitators split the group in subgroups to discuss subjects including local education, government, business and law enforcement, all framed around the issue of diversity.
The organizers’ goal was to invite a significant number of community leaders who could then take what they saw and learned back to their communities. Over the summer, the organizers will likely work with Columbus City Council in an effort to organize a similar event there.
Hetherington and his fellow students hope to turn Sunday Supper into an annual event. The goals are to effect changes in thought, help participants better understand one another’s beliefs and unite different communities.
Sunday Supper is just one endeavor for the greater good that Hetherington has undertaken. He also goes on a mission trip every year. The last few years, it has been to Appalachia as part of the Appalachia Service Project, which repairs homes for low-income families. In 2017, though, he is considering India as his destination.
Photo courtesy of William Hetherington
Heatherington (left) with Kofi Amponsah (center) and Varun Madan
In his capacity with Interact Club, Hetherington works to connect students with volunteer opportunities. Among the highlights of his involvement with the club is the drive-in movie fundraiser he helped start last year.
The event was held in late spring 2016 in the teachers’ parking lot at Coffman, with the big screen in the grass facing the lot. On the marquee that evening: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Proceeds went toward the construction of a new handicapped section in Coffman’s performing arts center. Hetherington says the club plans another such fundraiser April 22, though its beneficiary has yet to be determined, as does the movie. Hetherington hopes to be able to bring in hay bales to lay out for students without cars and/or with physical handicaps, and to make it a more far-ranging event by inviting the community.
Hetherington has turned his eye to science as well. He has long been interested in the medical field, particularly orthodontia, and has had the chance to study it through the Dublin City School District’s biomedical program, headquartered at Dublin Scioto High School.
After one of the directors at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry spoke to the class, Hetherington’s interest in research was piqued. He came up with an idea for a dental varnish with antibacterial properties, got in contact with the college and, now, is doing research at the OSU oral microbiology lab, taking part in a lab study and performing experiments.
“If the results come back really good, we might be able to move forward and make a new product … with regard to tooth decay,” he says.
Though he was originally interested in the medical field, particularly orthodontia, Hetherington now wants to parlay his scientific and entrepreneurial efforts into a career, he says. He is considering attending OSU, Miami University and the University of Chicago.
“I want to do something along the lines of business and entrepreneurship because, later in life, I want to go into the business field, but (focused) around science or helping people,” Hetherington says.
Garth Bishop is managing editor. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
