Glacier senior 'wants to be there to help'

There were moments when Becca Eisenman questioned her dedication to the Glacier High School football team.

Usually those times came when the bus had to be unloaded at 2 a.m. after an away game, or when she was staring down a rank pile of sweaty jerseys that had to be washed before the next day’s practice.

At those moments, “You bear it and get through it,” she said.

But for the most part, Eisenman loved her job as team manager. It gave her a chance to combine two loves: Being part of a team and helping others.

“I actually love helping other people and seeing how happy they are,” said Eisenman, who graduates today from Glacier High. “Life is too short to not be happy and helping others.”

Her work as the football team manager came about simply because she and her best friend, Montana Ziglar, wanted an activity they could do together. Eisenman had run track, played soccer and was a cheerleader early on in high school; Ziglar wasn’t involved in any of those activities.

So they asked Coach Grady Bennett if he needed any team managers. He said yes and the girls went to work, helping at practices and doing loads of laundry.

It was sometimes fast-paced and busy, but Eisenman loved her role as team manager. It allowed her to be part of the team.

“I was excited to be part of the games,” she said. “If someone has a broken helmet and if I can fix it fast enough, they can get back in the game.”

In addition to her role as a varsity football team manager — in which she logged as many, if not more, hours as the team — Eisenman managed Glacier’s tennis teams, helped raised money for earthquake victims in Haiti and volunteered with CASA for Kids.

She was also a member of Wolfpack Club, a service group for Glacier’s varsity letter winners. Club members have done everything from bell ringing for the Salvation Army at Christmas time to hosting thank-you brunches for referees and coaches to cleaning up the school grounds.

The club’s philosophy is simple, Eisenman said. “The community gives back to us so much. We want to give back to the community.”

She also was co-editor of this year’s high school yearbook. While that wasn’t technically a volunteer effort — Eisenman received credit for a yearlong annual class — she viewed her work as a sort of service to her classmates.

“I cried when the yearbooks arrived,” she said. “I was freaked out that they were not going to like it.”

Eisenman put in long hours on the yearbook, including days when other students were on vacation. She even went to yearbook camp — something she admits with a laugh is a little nerdy.

“My extracurricular this year was yearbook,” she said.

Between dealing with deadlines and writer’s block, the job often was stressful. But Eisenman said she wouldn’t trade the experience for anything — even if it will be years before she can enjoy her own annual.

“To be honest, I hate it,” she said the day the yearbook came out. “I have seen every picture and caption and every single word in that book. ... I don’t want to look at it any longer.”

Burnout hasn’t killed her love of photography, however; Eisenman hopes to minor in photography at Flathead Valley Community College. She plans to pursue a degree in radiology.

She wants a career that will allow her to continue helping people. Seeing people in trouble stirs empathy in Eisenman’s heart and moves her to act.

“That’s someone’s brother. That’s someone’s sister,” she said. “I want to be able to be there to help.”

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.