Photo by Travis Pratt Tuscarora High School student Guyon Sampson is the president of the Necktie Club at his school.

His life seems modeled after that. First of all, not all high school juniors can present a business card to people who meet them.

Second, not too many who are focused on getting into law school and having a political career are looking for more ways to volunteer their time than with five clubs and church.

Sampson, president of his Tuscarora High Necktie Club, is also president of his class, vice president of the Frederick County Association of Student Councils, secretary and former treasurer of the student government association, and vice president of the Basketball Coaches Without Boundaries Junior board.

"I have lots of meetings," Sampson said.

As president of the Necktie Club, Sampson meets weekly on its executive board, he said. Its general membership meetings occur once a month.

The Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. sponsors Necktie Clubs to teach students about leadership and the business world, how to conduct meetings, for example, following Robert's Rules of Order.

"I love it," Sampson said. "It's trying to prepare us for life."

"We're taught the X's and O's of life," said Sampson, comparing the Necktie Club experience to that of athletes who learn the X's and O's of game strategies.

"You've got to learn how to be productive," Sampson said.

Sampson ran for and won the club's presidency with a plan for the group to do more than its usual activity.

"We have to start with a goal," he said.

His was to mentor younger students. Before he had a chance to get going on that plan to mentor middle school students this year, another opportunity to help presented itself.

When the White Ribbon Campaign decided to open a month-long domestic violence awareness event at the school Oct. 1, Sampson volunteered his Necktie members to help. They handed out programs and greeted visitors politely.

Sampson said when he heard about the event he knew his club had to help. He did that, and lent support to the cause by addressing the group and emphasizing that his club shares a message of respect for women at all times.

Now he is working on that plan to help middle school students prepare for the transition to high school.

Another of his plans is to have a charitable competition with rival Thomas Johnson High School on a big game night. While the athletes compete, the two schools' Necktie clubs will compete to see which can collect the most canned goods for the hungry.

Sampson played baseball and basketball too, but politics interested him more, ever since the third grade, he said.

"I want to be a champion for the poor," he said. "I want to be a politician."

First he expects to study law.

"My goal isn't to be a lawyer," he said.

His family's only request is to do whatever he does to the best of his ability.

"We always try our best," he said. "You do nothing less than best."

He urges others to learn what his family has taught him: that recognition for charitable acts is not important.

"It just mattered that someone else was helped," he said.