State High Community Honors Late Teacher Andrew Keim

A group of employees at State College Area High School has started a Centre County PAWS fund to honor the late Andrew Keim.

Keim, 32, was a world-history teacher at State High when he died in June. He had just finished his third year as a full-time faculty member at the school, where he was particularly well known for his compassion and enthusiasm.

‘It’s such a huge loss for us. … He had a huge presence,’ said Debrah Poveromo, the State High social-studies coordinator. Keim had worked as a student teacher under Poveromo before he was hired on a full-time basis.

She said the department has been struggling in the wake of Keim’s death and ‘really (wants) to try our best to keep his memory alive.’

Part of that memory centers on Keim’s love for animals. From PAWS, a nonprofit pet-adoption group, he had brought home a mixed-breed dog — part Australian cattle dog, part black Labrador — named Lloyd.

‘He loved that dog, absolutely loved that dog,’ Poveromo said. (Lloyd now lives with one of Keim’s brothers, Steve, in Colorado.)

And so Keim’s former colleagues have set out to have a kennel at the local PAWS facility, on Trout Road, named for him.

To make it happen, they need to raise about $5,000 for a PAWS fund, Poveromo said. They’ve raised nearly $3,000 so far — including $930 from an employee cookie-swap event hosted at school on Dec. 17.

‘It was just phenomenal,’ State High South Building reading specialist Denise Schwab said of the exchange. The event was her brainchild and, she said, inspired 20 school employees to bake cookies.

Many more contributed monetarily to the cause, Schwab said. She said school workers wanted to remember and honor Keim during the holiday season, and to raise their own spirits in the process.

‘We know things are tight’ economically, Schwab said. ‘People really reached deep and gave us some great donations.’

All told, Poveromo estimated that somewhere between 50 and 75 people have been involved in contributing to the PAWS fund to date. She said anyone who’s interested in supporting the effort may call her at (814) 272-4033 or send her an e-mail message at dap13@scasd.org.

‘There are so many different levels’ of Keim’s legacy, Schwab said. He helped foster warmth and collaboration in the school — a mission that his former co-workers are reminded of, and inspired by, every day, she said.

‘When he passed away,’ Schwab said, ‘we really wanted to continue to support him and the things he loved.’

Earlier coverage

• State High’s Keim Remembered for ‘Huge Heart and Compassion’; Services Scheduled (June 28, 2010)