Danny Showers invites Interact Club members to dinner at the Brown Palace's Palace Arms restaurant. photo by Lucy Peterson
CTE Partnership Coordinator Danny Showers hosted a dinner at Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel to give back to his students and honor DTC Rotary President Anne Wilcox.
Danny Showers, CTE Partnership Coordinator and sponsor of Thomas Jefferson’s Interact Club, invited his members of Interact to join him for dinner at the Brown Palace Hotel’s Palace Arms restaurant on November 8th. The students were joined by members of the DTC Rotary Club, including president Anne Wilcox, Thomas Jefferson principal Mike Christoff and assistant principal Paula Hammel, and other personal guests of Showers.
The main goal of the dinner was to teach students dinner etiquette and allow them to experience opportunities that they would not be able to take part in otherwise. Attendees of the dinner were seated in the private room of the Palace Arms restaurant around a table for eighteen. Their prepaid dinner consisted of a tomato consomme, harpoon-caught swordfish, Colorado grown beef, and a walnut cake, all prepared by the chef on staff. Students learned basic dinner etiquette such as which utensils to use and how to signal to a waiter when finished eating. “I want to give,” Showers said, “I keep giving these opportunities because it brings me personal pride to see these students experience new things.”
While Showers wished to give his students the opportunity to see things from a different perspective, the dinner was also an opportunity for the interact members to thank Wilcox “for all of her love, passion, and support she brings to the club and all the time she puts in to attend all of our meetings and share her knowledge and experiences with us,” said junior and Interact president Vasi Reiva. During the dinner, Reiva presented Wilcox with her award as a token of appreciation, accompanied by a speech on behalf of her members and Showers. Interact Club is an organization in which participants give back to the community, carrying out two service projects a year: one that is community based and one that is internationally based. Interact is sponsored by the DTC Rotary Club which bases their principles on giving back as well. Wilcox is a key part of TJ’s Interact Club, sitting in on every club meeting and helping the club with their service projects.
Making opportunities for students such as a formal dinner at a world renowned hotel is very important to Showers because he wants his students to experience the real world outside of the classroom. Teaching reaches beyond the classroom and learning things such as correct table manners and adequate social skills is a very important task that will aid students in their journey beyond high school and college throughout their careers. Hammel commented, “These opportunities set our students up for success and they can see there’s a bigger world to be a part of and they’re not afraid of that world when they experience it for themselves.” These opportunities that Showers graciously gives to his students help set TJ apart from other DPS schools because these students get exposure to the world around them and gain new experiences that can enhance their future path towards college and beyond.
