Exploring the art of communication
Geoffrey Prettyman is learning about light and shadows in his art and photography classes at Cosumnes River College.
Step into his immaculate home in Elk Grove and meet his family and it becomes clear he's been raised in the light, with no shadows of doubt about his abilities.
His mother home-schooled him and his sister, taking more time with Geoffrey because she had to use sign language to interpret lectures for her hearing-impaired son. He graduated from high school with a 4.0 grade point average.
The family displays Geoffrey's award-winning paintings and drawings and speaks with unabashed pride of his achieving Eagle Scout status. He's a determined young man with an unrelenting joy for life, they say.
"It's not just us, everybody says this," said Geoffrey's mother, Deborah Prettyman. "He wakes up with a smile every morning. And when he sets a goal, he achieves it."
Geoffrey's goal is to become an artist and an animator for Disney. He's taking art and computer classes to help him achieve that goal.
The 18-year-old has won an art contest at the California State Fair and met President Bush through the Make-a-Wish Foundation. He presented the president with a patriotic drawing.
His parents describe him as proudly patriotic.
"Geoffrey will never have the opportunity to serve his country, but he did his service in the Boy Scouts," said Geoff Prettyman, Geoffrey's father. "He was an example for a lot of the kids."
Geoffrey's family has asked Book of Dreams readers to help provide Geoffrey with a new laptop computer to use for his studies and to communicate with his friends.
"He can't talk on the phone but he can e-mail his friends. That's kind of his connection," said his mother.