Benevolent St. Francis Prep Senior

The holiday season is all about giving. For St. Francis Prep senior Sal Asaro, however, it is not just this time of the year he offers help to others. A standout student with an average in the high 90's, Asaro is reaching out to countless organizations.
It all started the summer of his freshman year when he was at Holy Cross. Asaro joined Operation FUN, an organization that offers help to the mentally and physically disabled. He served as a counselor, but for just a single individual.
&#8220I really enjoyed it,” the Ozone Park native said of the Forest Hills program. &#8220I've done it for three years and I plan on doing it again this year. . . . It puts a smile on my face every time I go.”
Asaro's work with Operation FUN, which stands for fulfilling unmet needs, is just the tip of the iceberg with this 17-year-old. For three years, Asaro has spent his time volunteering at the Presentation Soup Kitchen in Jamaica to the point where he is now the student coordinator. &#8220It's the same people every time; you get to know them,” he said. &#8220They recognize your face. It's interesting to see what life is like for them.”
Then there is the work he does academically. He serves as a big brother at P.S. 4 in Fresh Meadows, a program run by St. Francis Prep. Asaro also is in his third year tutoring fellow students at his school, and is a leader in the Franciscan Youth Movement at St. Francis Prep, a club at school that raises money for different causes and charities. They offer their time at open houses, orientation, and school tours. All this without even mentioning the time Asaro spends in the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Club, where he serves as a peer counselor for the school's underclassmen.
&#8220I talk to incoming freshmen to help them get adjusted to school and teenage life,” he said. &#8220Kind of a role model type of thing.”
But unlike others who reach out, Asaro doesn’t do it all - the volunteering at the soup kitchen, the work with Operation FUN or even the tutoring - for credits or at the urging of his parents. He just thoroughly enjoys it. &#8220I do want to genuinely help people,” he said. &#8220I find it very fulfilling. I guess ever since the first time I did Operation FUN, I felt really good doing it, just felt like every time I saw the opportunity to help someone, I thought why not?”
As a student, Asaro is obviously no slouch. Because of all his other commitments, he does not have much time to study. Yet because of his memorization skills and retentive brain, he makes do. &#8220I'm not really the type of person who has to study much,” he said. &#8220Once I learn something, it kind of stays in my head. The time I do have during school, every moment I read or work on my homework. It's kind of like time management, I guess.”
Asaro enjoys English the most, and finds math extremely interesting. But even when he's not helping others, he's writing about it. Asaro recently did a 20-page research paper on volunteer service, and students' motivation for doing them, as related to what and how they benefit from such an experience.
He would like to attend school locally, preferably at Columbia or NYU. Although he isn't sure what he plans on studying, English and philosophy interest him.
A career in music is his dream. Asaro, whose favorite bands are Sublime, Green Day and Led Zeppelin, plays the guitar, (he started six years ago) mostly rock and classical music. He wants to join a band once he finishes school.
Then, maybe, just maybe, he will take some time for himself.