Living life to the fullest

     Carmen Bass rocked her hips to the side and let her animated personality take over as she led the Month of the Young Adolescents Writing Contest on Friday, Oct. 26, in the GCSU University Banquet Hall.
     This was her time. This was her moment to shine and prove to herself, her fellow classmates and her mentor leader that she could handle a leadership role.
     “Carmen was the emcee. It was unlike her to volunteer for such a position, however it just seemed natural for her to do it,” said senior classmate Heather Spandau. “Nobody could talk her out of doing it. It was something she had set her mind to and was going to accomplish.”
     The writing contest was for middle school students (grades 4-8) in the surrounding counties who wrote on the topic “How can I make a Difference.” By the end of the contest, Bass had accomplished what she had set out to do. She had succeeded in pronouncing herself as a leader.
     “I was proud of the way she stepped up and took control of the situation,” Karynne Kleine, Bass’s mentor leader, said. “It was rewarding to see her grow and come into her own. I remember after the program she called her aunt to tell her all about it. She began by saying how well the contest went and then she said, ‘and Karynne said it was good to.’ She wanted to share with everybody her accomplishment and how much she had grown.”
     Unfortunately, this would be the last time Bass would share a sense of accomplishment with her classmates, teachers and family. Early Saturday morning Oct. 27, Bass died in an automobile accident in Henry County.
     Bass, a senior middle grades education major, had spent a little less than four years at GCSU but made a major impact on her classmates, friends, and students. When asked to describe Bass’s personality in one word or less, words such as, unpretentious, easygoing, zestful, vivacious, persuasive and determined were used. These strong words plainly say how much of an influence Bass had on her peers, teachers and friends.
     “She had a devil may care attitude,” Kleine said. “She was presently orientated and rolled with the punches. She was up for anything. She did not try to make a particular impression. She was comfortable with who she was and I’ll miss that.”
     Bass, being a middle grades education major, was placed in a cohort called “Ignite.” A cohort is a group or company made up of companions and associates to aid learning or growth. The middle grades cohort is a small close-knit group of students that only consists of 13 women.
     “Middle education majors come in and stay together for two years with the guidance of one person,” Kleine said. “The cohorts are very close. They build around one another and the community to become well balanced teachers.”
     As a cohort, the girls see each other 30 to 40 hours a week and share six weeks of class time during a semester. They know each other like the back of their hand and relied on one another for advice and support, especially Bass.
     Known as “Crazy Carmen” to the cohort “Ignite,” Bass kept her peers on their toes with her humor and lively charisma.
“She was never stressed. She always got her work done and knew how to make everything you were doing fun,” senior classmate Maggie Brady said. “I met her on the first day of the cohort and we had to give each other nicknames. Her name was Crazy Carmen. She looked at me and said, ‘You’ll find out real soon.’”
    Bass was not lying. Her craziness soon transpired into daily laughs among her classmates.
     “She made all of us laugh because she wanted everyone laughing with her,” senior classmate Sarah Oelke said.
But most of all it was her energy and her confidence that made her the backbone of the cohort.
     “The best thing about Carmen was that she always had mounds of energy,” senior classmate Mallori Harden said. “She was the one that brought the cohort together and kept us focused and loose.”
     Moreover Bass was not afraid to express herself.
     “She was never afraid to take a stand and voice her opinion,” Spandau said. “She had a lively spirit that would fill the room wherever she went.”
     Bass, mostly characterized by her vivid personality and humor, was also known as a diligent student who was always on time in getting her work done.
     “It was incredible of how much of a hard worker she was,” Harden said. “She always somehow got all her work done and that can be a hard thing being a student and part time teacher.”
     All cohort students are required to go through placement where they are placed with a local school and undergo actual teaching experience as a part time job. Carmen was placed in a seventh grade class at Putnam County Middle School and was loved by her students.
     “She gave all her of students nicknames,” Brady said. “Her students always said that she made learning so fun.”
     Bass always challenged her students to think outside the box and make their work stand out.
     “She would tell her kids to make it ‘flashy’ and they would look at her confused,” Oelke said. “She would say, ‘You know, make it flashy.’”
     Bass always brought laughter into the classroom leaving room for some great stories.
     “She wasn’t the best speller. One time during her class they discussed tragedies and she wrote ‘trajedies’ on the board,” Oelke said. “One boy raised his hand and said don’t you spell tragedy, t-r-a-g-e-d-y?”
     But more importantly outside of the classroom Bass was a people person and impacted an unimaginable amount of lives. When friends and classmates were asked if she was a people person, the words, “Oh Yeah! She could never be by herself,” came from everyone’s mouth. Her roommates, seniors Melanie and Ashley Webb, testified greatly to this statement.
     “She had no regrets; she never held back,” Ashley Webb said. “She may have had a short life but she did everything. She could never be alone. She would fall asleep with the phone next to her ear.
     Melanie echoed her sister’s words.
     “She never met a stranger,” Webb said. “She knew everyone and they knew her. There were so many different parts to her. She touched so many people. She stopped traffic at her funeral.”
     Bass’s impact on the community was obvious at her funeral as traffic was backed up into the streets in front of the McDonough Presbyterian Church on Oct. 31. Besides parking, seats were also overflowing at the funeral as people were found standing in the entryway of the church.
     “Everyone had a special place in there heart for Carmey,” Oelke said.
     In recognition of Bass, GCSU and her family are starting a scholarship fund for aspiring middle school teachers. The speculations are undetermined at the moment but donations are being accepted at GCSU Campus Box 096.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 9 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry