The Daily of the University of Washington
Friday, February 9, 2001

Teen on top of the world
WB, Teen People Magazine honors IOW freshman

by DONIELLE DOUGHERTY The Daily

Paul Gordon is not your average UW freshman. He has accomplished more in his lifetime than many have or ever will.

Gordon, a 19-year-old resident of Redmond, will be featured in a WB cable TV show this Friday at 9 p.m., and he has been named one of Teen People Magaaine's top 20 teens who will change the world. He is featured in the magazine's March issues Silhouettes or Time, a 32-minute film Gordon wrote, directed, shot and edited, has received national and international attention after its debut it the Sundance Film Festival, and has made Gordon a rising new star.

"It was the first film I ever did," he said, 'so I really didn't know what was going to come out of it. [Fame] is not something I necessarily expected." The plot of the film focuses on a youth named Dawson. His life is full of hardships and run-ins with the school bully. He contemplates revenge on the bully, and has a dream that night about the consequences he would face if he were to go through with the shooting.

The film concludes with a positive and inspiring menage. The message Gordon hopes to achieve is one of hope and positive change in the attitudes of students.
"1 really felt like there needed to be something done to encourage the youth and encourage the parents he said, "just something that would make a difference."

The film, which was a school project Gordon completed his senior year of high school, will air on HBO in the fall.

In addition to his talents as a filmmaker, Gordon is also an advocate for organ donation. When he was 15 years old, he helped raise $240,000 for a local boy's liver transplant.

"I was in a restaurant and I saw this boys picture on a bet. de," he recalled. 'They were asking for money to help pay for his transplant, and after seeing that, something just kind of moved me. So I decided I wanted to get involved"

Gordon became best friends with the boy and stayed with him at the hospital while he went through the surgery. It also prompted him to start his own foundation, Paul Gordon's Children's Fund, through the National Transplant Assistance Fund. He has raised $24,000 for that cause.

Ultimately, what I've learned from that [experience] is that the joy of serving is so awesome," he said.

He is also working with Rep. Kathy Lambert, RRedmond, to pass a bill that would include a chapter in the Department of Motor Vehicles driver's manual explaining the importance of being an organ donor.

Gordon has also written a book, There's Still Hope Left In America's Youth. It has been published by Elron-Wolf Publishing and will be available in April.

"The book is about how parents can get their kids involved with doing stuff that will make a difference." he said. "It's kind of a book to parents. It tells my story and gives good insight."

This past summer, Gordon began working on his next project. He traveled across the country and documented seven youths who have made a difference in their communities, He wants to turn their stories into a miniseries.

"These are stories about kids who have done inspirational things," he said. "The youth are not this picture that everyone has. There are a lot of kids doing a lot of good things. What better way to show that then to have a miniseries about it."

While Gordon is busy filling his time with press confer" ences and interviews,- he still has time to attend classes at the UW. He would like to become a film director.

"After that, maybe I'd like to get into politics,' he said, "and run for president someday."
Gordon has been an inspiration to many, bur his inspiration comes from two very important people in his life. One of them is his mother, Elaine Gordon, whom he refers to as 'just awesome,' and the other is a family friend, Ben Casady.

"[Casady's] like my mentor. my dad, he just inspires me a ton," Gordon said. 'He's the person I look up to and nobody knows who he is, but to me he's like the coolest person in the world."

When Gordon isn't directing films, fundraising. or speaking at schools, conferences and seminars, or studying for his midterms, he enjoys snowboarding, skateboarding and collecting Legos.

He may be in the spotlight right now, but Gordon remains levelheaded when it comes to all the attention he is receiving.

"It's cool, it's very cool," he said. "To me, I still wake up every morning and 1 still see myself as Paul Gordon, who lives in Redmond, Wash., and to me, it's like I'm still the same person."

Donielie Dougherty is a student in the UW School of Communication News Laboratory.