Geibel Catholic Student/Athlete scholarship recipient
Robert Orange looks back with no regrets. Unlike Mick Jagger, Robert Orange does feel satisfied, even if life has thrown him a few curves over the past four years.
Everything hasn’t worked out perfectly, but not because Orange didn’t put forth the effort.
“I can look back without regret,” Orange said. “We lost games I would have liked to win, and I did make mistakes at times, but I always tried my hardest. I never settled for less.”
Orange’s labors have resulted in much fruit, and for his hard work, he will now be honored.
Orange, the son of John and Lori Orange, of Mount Pleasant, was selected as the top male student/athlete at Geibel Catholic High School and will receive a $500 scholarship through the Fayette County Student/Athlete Scholarship Program.
The program, sponsored by Davis and Davis Attorneys at Law in conjunction with the Herald-Standard, will provide $7,000 in scholarship money to 14 of Fayette County’s best and brightest student/athletes.
A banquet will culminate the program Sunday, June 3, at the Historic Summit Inn. At that time, each of the 14 honorees will receive $500 toward a college education. HSTV will videotape the event.
After finishing high school with a 3.862 grade point average and ranking No. 11 in a class of 66, Orange will continue his education at Villanova University. Orange plans on majoring in chemical engineering with a minor in literature.
Before settling on Villanova, Orange also considered the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University.
“Pitt and Penn State were always kind of in the back of my mind, but Villanova has a really good engineering program, and that is want I want to be,” Orange said. “And it’s definitely far enough away from home where I’ll gain my independence, but I’ll still be able to come back and visit.
“I think I’ll probably learn as much outside the classroom in college as I do in it. All the life experiences you have to go through like taking care of yourself, cooking for yourself, cleaning and doing your own laundry will help me grow up pretty quickly.”
Orange definitely cleaned up in the classroom while at Geibel, and also found time to take part in several other activities. He was a member of Peer Ministry, Campus Ministry, vice president of the National Honor Society, a member of the Spanish National Honor Society and Book Club.
Also, Orange regularly attends church where he is a lector, altar server and Eucharistic minister.
Along with the Fayette County Student/Athlete award, Orange has received scholarships toward his college education from Davie’s Ford and his church, St. Florian’s.
During the past four years, Orange has been a member of Geibel’s soccer and basketball teams. This past fall, Orange also played football, handling the kicking and punting duties for the Gators.
It was tough at times, suiting up week in and week out for a struggling team, but Orange never gave less than 100 percent, and saw the same things from his teammates.
“I think a lot of people always expected us to lose, and they thought we lost because we didn’t try hard,” Orange said. “But whenever you’re playing bigger, stronger, faster kids, whose teams have more numbers, it’s difficult.
“We still wound up being a pretty close-knit team. And I know all of the guys tried their hardest.”
Orange, the grandson of Ann Bossick, of Mount Pleasant, also has a sister, Molly, 23. Molly recently graduated from Laroche College and is working on receiving her teaching degree.
The siblings have found more common ground as the years have passed.
“We grew closer as we got older,” Orange said. “When I was in the 7th and 8th grades, Molly was older and we didn’t have too much in common. But we started to really get close after that. We’re on opposite ends of the spectrum – Molly is more artistic and I’m more into sports – but I learned a lot from her and I’m a better person because of it.”
Like all student/athletes, Orange learned early on how to juggle. Time that is.
Excelling simultaneously in the classroom and on the playing field required a high level of discipline.
“It’s not about being involved in as many activities as you can be involved in,” Orange said. “It’s about giving 100 percent in the activities you are involved in. You should always strive to be your best and take the time to put in the hard work.
“If you give your best, you will have satisfaction.”