Family Inspires Riverview Teen

From football to theater to Scouting, nearly all of Andy Galata’s activities share one thing in common: strong family ties.  

Just two examples are scouting and theater. He participates in Boy Scouts with his dad, Tim Galata, as a scout with Troop 854, which meets at .

He started Scouting when he was in the first grade.

“I definitely want to keep going through Boy Scouts, become an Eagle Scout and become an adult leader,” he said.

“I really like it because it teaches me a lot of lessons I can carry through life.”

Andy has a definite goal in mind when it comes to Scouting.

“His goal is to be an Eagle Scout like his dad,” Andy’s mom, Stacey Galata said.

Andy’s involvement with theater goes back even further than his time with
Scouts. His mom said he has been involved since he was very young, in fact she signed on to stage manage Riverview High School shows when she was pregnant with him.

He has been involved with theater at Riverview as a member of stage crew and drama club. Just a couple of the shows he’s been involved with are “The King and I” and “Beauty and the Beast."

For Andy, being able to share time with his parents adds to his enjoyment of those activities.

“I really like that because it’s something I can do with my dad that he really likes and with my mom that she really likes,” he said.

On top of those activities, Andy also maintains a 4.0 or higher grade point average, is treasurer of the Riverview Builder’s Club service organization and plays saxophone in his school’s band.

He also finds time for another activity with a family connection—football.

Andy followed his cousin, Mitch Fowkes, onto the field. Fowkes was a Riverview team captain about five years ago.

“When I was little I really always admired him,” Andy said. “I got excited when people would say I looked like him, because he was pretty good at
(football). I wanted to be like him.”

Fowkes stepped up and helped Andy learn the ropes. He now plays the same offense line position and wears the same number—52—as the one his older cousin did during his time at Riverview.

“That was like the number we have in our family because he was so good and we all liked to watch him play,” Andy said.

Andy also stays busy with activities that help others, among them the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and the annual ALS Walk held at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

He got involved in the ALS Walk when he found out about a family member –his mother’s cousin in Tennessee, Michael Braden—had been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a degenerative disease that attacks the nerves.

The walk was held Sept. 10. Andy estimates that the fundraiser drew
about 3,000 to the zoo.

“It was really neat to see that it wasn’t just my family…going through all
this,” he said.

He and his family collected money throughout the year in anticipation of the event.

Andy plans on making the walk an annual event. And that means a lot to his family.

“I just think of everything he does and everything he’s involved with,” Stacey said, “I’m most proud of his charity work.

“People can tell me he’s a great student, but when they tell me how polite
or caring he is, I’m more proud of that.”