PUTTING OUR MONEY WHERE OUR YOUTH IS!
RDP DEAN A. FRIGO FOUNDATION
33 RDP DEAN A. FRIGO FOUNDATION
PUTTING OUR MONEY WHERE OUR YOUTH IS!
Welcome To The Homepage of the 33 RDP Dean A. Frigo Foundation. Dean was a force in many peoples lives and touched many hearts. He will be missed by everyone who's life he touched. He is forever in our memories and the song in our heart. The 33 RDP Dean A Frigo Foundation is set up in honor of Dean and is dedicated to the student body of Lowell High School and the town of Lowell. The 33 RDP Dean A. Frigo Foundation is inspired by the way Dean lived his life: Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible. The 33 RDP Dean A. Frigo Foundation offers scholarships for students in the Lowell High School football program for students who exemplify Deans values through their actions and through their deeds.
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Welcome To What People Are Saying...
Dear Ms. Nancy Frigo,
Hello there, my name is Lexie Itczak. To briefly introduce myself, I
am a Lowell High School graduate of 2010. Currently I am studying to
become a hydrologist, which means I'm a huge science nerd. In my spare
time I enjoy petting cats and hunting for Big Foot. Kidding, I'm just a
normal college girl. Kind of. Normal is all but relative, really.
Anyways, the point of this random message is not to introduce myself
although I do feel it is important to have a feel for the sender. No,
the point of this message is to share a bit about your son, Dean. I'm
not entirely sure why I feel so lead to send you this now, but it has
been laid so heavily on my heart ever since his passing. It has become
considerably heavier in recent weeks.
To start from the beginning;
your son was Mr.Wong's freshman PE assistant. He was the cool junior,
and I was the awkward freshman in the gym uniform, haha. Other than
seeing him during my gym hour, I didn't socialize with Dean. We weren't
really "friends," more of a friendly acquaintance to each other. I
didn't know him as well as some of my fellow classmates. During this
gym class, Mr.Wong would routinely have us run "the mile." My class
just so happened to be filled with track stars and seasoned athletes,
leaving me with little opportunity for success with this task. To be
honest, I was never really a runner. I was always lucky to run said
distance in about eighteen minutes, which always left classmates
perplexed because I have always been a slender kid. My lack of
endurance was something I acknowledged and accepted. I was the
band-geek science nerdy girl, and allowed myself to be content with
that.
Given this love-hate relationship with running, I was not
expecting to all of a sudden become as quick as a jungle cat. If
anything, I allowed myself to slack. If I read Dean right, this was
something he just couldn't watch. It was unacceptable. So as I was
finishing the final lap of this torture in my bright red Converse shoes
(dead last) Dean would shout some words of encouragement, or just tell
me to pick up my feet. At first, well, it kind of pissed me off; why
was he drawing more attention to me, couldn't he tell that I was just
downright awful by nature? Apparently, no, he could not. Or maybe he
did see this, but also saw some potential that I hadn't.
Once the
shouting lost effect, Dean figured a "plan-b." In front of everyone in
the field house, Dean would actually get up and run the last lap with
me. He would run along side of me while giving more words of
encouragement like you wouldn’t believe. Your son would say things like
“It’s the final lap, you’re almost done!” “Let’s be quicker this time
than we were last time!” “We’ve only got fifteen more steps if you open
your stride!” When I would say things like “No, I can’t” he would just
tell me to smile even though it hurt. He even started calling me Rex,
because my running form is similar to a T-Rex. I think the name was an
extra boost as well. To me, this was an incredible act. It still is to
this day. Dean didn’t have to reach out to the quirky freshman, moving
around the track at a turtles pace. He didn’t have to run with me. He
had every reason to put me down, but instead he chose to encourage me.
Later I learned that it was just his way. This was what he did for
everyone.
The day of his passing, we were scheduled to do our
routine running. On that day, I think part of Lowell High School passed
as well. Classes didn’t go on. People weren’t talking. It was a
somber and painful day even for those that had never talked to him. To
me, this meant I would more than likely go back to running like a
turtle. I would be forever lacking the encouragement Dean had so easily
offered. It was strange going to PE and not seeing Dean there.
The weeks following were still strange, but I noticed myself running
quicker. I would constantly imagine your son running with me, telling
me to just smile. A year later, I joined cross-country. Don’t be
fooled, I was very far from being MVP. I held a pretty solid record of
finishing dead last for Lowell at every meet. But wouldn’t you know I
constantly ran with a smile on my face. I did this without even
realizing it most of the time. This became my trademark, and people
recognized it. A cheering section for Rex at the finish of every race
became consistent, made up of Lowell parents and teammates from all
over. This was my last lap encouragement regime-one akin to Dean’s.
Now, in the present-day, I am proud to say I am a “runner.” Being
able to run a mile in less than seven minutes has become a great source
of pride for me. Recently I have started training for the Chicago
Marathon, and a two thousand mile bicycling trip along the east coast
with an organization dedicated to building homes for the less-fortunate.
Dean’s words of encouragement constantly play on loop in my mind while
training for both events. Never would I be able to do any of this
without Dean’s help years ago.
Ms. Frigo, this is not my story of
triumph. This is not a victory story, and I am no one special. This
is, however, a story that I felt was worth sharing with you. Dean might
not have realized the impact of his seemingly small actions. Clearly,
his presence in my life has positively altered my being. I have no
doubt that I would not be the person I am today without having the
encouragement he had so easily offered to me. I’m not sure how
spiritual you are, but I felt this was something I needed to say. This
is, in my belief, anything but coincidence. Maybe this was something
you needed to hear (read), maybe it wasn’t-I’m not sure. If anything
this is just another instance illustrating how remarkable your son still
is, and that is something I’m sure you’re not opposed to receiving.
Thank you for taking time to read this. You can expect me to run in
the next 33 RDP 5k with a smile on my face, all because of Dean Frigo.
It would be, in my opinion, insulting to him to run in any other state
of being.
Sincerely and truly,
Lexie