Teen face: Steve Stone

Personal: Steve Stone is an 18-year-old senior at Cardinal Newman High. He lives in Santa Rosa with his mom, Mary, dad, Greg, and 16-year-old sister Michelle, a junior at Ursuline High.

Stand back -- he's got a hammer: Since June, Stone has volunteered more than 175 hours with Habitat for Humanity, working on the Johnson Street project in Sebastopol. He worked alongside the future residents putting in sweat equity and other volunteers of all ages.

"I wanted to choose something I felt passionate about. I want to study construction management or civil engineering. Habitat for Humanity helped me be sure that I really love building stuff," he said.

Building family circles: Another reason Stone spent two to three days per week over the summer on the Habitat for Humanity site is he really bonded with everyone there. He and friend Tanner Miller, a junior at Montgomery High, have since organized efforts to bring volunteer groups to the site.

"I didn't realize that through volunteering and working together you feel like a family almost. Add to that, providing two homes for two families, I've just come to love the project," he said.

Indeed, the project delivered other unanticipated delights.

"We scheduled some kids to come out with our teacher, John Contreras, and we had him digging a trench. It's fun seeing teachers getting dirty," he said with a laugh.

Full calendar: In junior year, Stone was class president and participated in the Tomorrow's Leaders Today program. This year, he is Associated Student Body vice president and active in Campus Ministry, organizing retreats. He is also on Link Crew, welcoming new students to the campus.

Spring and summer, he participates in cross country and track. In the winter, he enjoys snow skiing.

He is also an avid cycler. This year, he completed The Death Ride in South Lake Tahoe, a 129-mile nightmare of up and down segments he and his dad have been tackling together for years.

"It's really good bonding time with my dad and friends. I think it took me 12 hours, but I finished it this year, my sixth year of trying," he said.

Another bonding activity with his dad is wrenching on a 1972 Chevy Blazer.

Personal standards: He is devoted to his church, St. Eugene's, serving as an altar boy for five years before becoming the current sacristan. A pianist and drummer, at school he helps provide music at activities and drama productions. He also plays with the music team at his church.

His heroes are his parents and teachers.

"My parents have broadened my education. We've traveled to all 50 states, and they show us, not everyone lives like us . . . that we are fortunate," he said.

A few of his favorite things: The 4.2-GPA student actually enjoys calculus.

"It's an all-guy class. It's pretty fun. You get to be a guy for an hour," he joked.

His movie tastes are quite sophisticated. His favorite films include "Spaceballs" and "The Rock." His favorite authors include Michael Crichton and "mystery writers who do their research."

He enjoys being a big brother, although he said his sister hardly needs anyone to worry about her.

"She's really, really, smart. On trips, we always have fun. I just treat her like my best friend," he said.

He said that the transition from being a somewhat timid freshman to a senior has been a journey of discovery.

"At first I was so quiet, but I wanted to get involved and I looked for ways to do that," he said.

His happiest memories from Cardinal Newman will be the buzz of excitement on Friday night before football games.

"I love gathering friends together and being in the student cheering section. I love doing that," he said.

-- R.R. Wolfe