TOWAMENCIN – He’s known to most as the unofficial “mayor” of North Penn High School because of his high spirit and love for the school.

With a big smile, junior Ben Hartranft walks through the hallways greeting every student, teacher, and faculty member he passes in an attempt to make their day a little bit brighter. Along the line of brightening days, Hartranft frequently gives back to the school and the community.

Hartranft was diagnosed with Autism at only two years old. He started speech therapy at three years old because his vocabulary was not as advanced as it should have been. Ever since, he’s been attending extensive speech therapy, and it’s helped him become the outgoing person he is today.

Last Friday, Hartranft showed off his genuine nature by selling soft pretzels during all lunch periods in order to raise money for the Autism Society of America.

“[The pretzel sale] was amazing. We sold 800 pretzels. [Last year,] we sold 200 in 40 minutes,” explained Hartranft “We collected $722, but then my mom and dad matched it. Then, my dad’s company, SAP, doubled the fund, so we raised over $2200. It’s all going to go to Autism Society of America. I like donating money because [I know] it’s going towards a good cause.”

As a whole, North Penn was supportive of Hartranft during the sale, and it was made obvious through the long pretzel lines. Hartranft was thrilled to receive so much support from his peers.

“It was amazing that all of those people came in line just to buy a pretzel,” said Hartranft with delight “It was really cool that a lot of people came out, bought a pretzel, and supported autism.”

Similar to how he felt overwhelming support at the pretzel sale, Hartranft felt even more support the day prior when he sang the National Anthem and threw out the first pitch at the Knights’ baseball game.

“I want to give a shout out to the baseball team and the whole athletic complex because they all paused when I sang the National Anthem. It was so cool. I was like ‘this is so weird’,” described Hartranft “Also, someone made signs saying ‘we love Ben’, so I wanted to give a shout out to whoever made the signs.”

Hartranft sang the National Anthem at sporting events before, but that did not stop the nerves, for “it’s always such an exciting moment”. For giving him the opportunity to show off his skills, Hartranft would like to extend his thanks to the whole baseball team, especially head coach, Kevin Manero.

“I want to thank Mr. Manero for everything he did at the baseball game,” expressed Hartranft “I got to warm up with the baseball team and stretch out and all that. Then I got ready to throw out the pitch. It was a cool experience.”

All in all, Hartranft had a very eventful couple of days, and for that, he “wanted to thank everyone in the building for helping and supporting him” because without them, none of it would have been possible.