David Saville

Outstanding Personal Achievement Award

This award recognizes an individual, who is living with developmental disabilities, whose personal achievements are extraordinary and effectively set a high standard that would well be emulated.

David Saville is an extraordinary young man.  He is a senior at Norcross High School (NHS).  He is the football manager for the varsity, JV, and 9th grade teams.  He is a member of the Drama Club, an athlete who competes in basketball, track, and volleyball at Special Olympics, and an Eagle Scout who has earned a total of 30 merit badges.  The awards and recognitions he has earned are numerous but just in the last year include: a member of the National Honor Society, Football Letterman – Scholar Athlete Award, Manager of the Year Award, Homecoming King, and Blue Angel Award.  He is a positive role model and goodwill ambassador for his school, and he was recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children for Outstanding Achievement.  Mr. Saville has Down syndrome.

Football coach Keith Maloof treats Mr. Saville like his own son. Coach Maloof’s acceptance and inclusion has led others to accept Mr. Saville and has paved the way for other students with disabilities to be accepted.  As team manager, the players accept Mr. Saville as a peer, but would say they even draw inspiration from him to perform at a higher level.  When he graduates, Coach Maloof has made arrangements for Mr. Saville to take over key management duties for the football program. 

The administration, teachers, and students at NHS have united with Mr. Saville and his parents to give the same opportunities a typical student would enjoy.  Gina Parrish, the drama teacher at NHS, has supported Mr. Saville in the development of his drama skills which made him an integral part of the drama club.  He has enjoyed acting and speaking parts in six plays.  This relationship led to a role in “The Boys Next Door,” a play surrounding the life of four men with cognitive challenges living in an apartment together. 

Norcross High students go out of their way to include Mr. Saville socially; in fact, students and faculty were some of the 300 present at Mr. Saville’s Eagle Scout Award Ceremony last year.  The student body first nominated him to the Homecoming Court and has recently elected him to be the Homecoming King. 
As a result of the support and acceptance Mr. Saville has received from his school, friends, and family, he has raised the bar for future special education students and is a great encouragement to others.  What is Mr. Saville’s goal for his future?  “I want to graduate from high school, find a job that I can perform well, and help the company I am working for make more money.  Some day, I would like to have my own business.”  Mr. Saville certainly has a unique and exciting future ahead of him.

David Saville
Senior, Norcross High School