Daeveon Deshields: Age is nothing but a number
For 10-year-old Daeveon Deshields, age is no impediment to helping the community.
A fifth-grade student at Rehoboth Elementary School, Daeveon has been providing care packages to people in need for the past few years. His packages include wipes, hand sanitizers, hats and gloves, and are taken to Faith United Methodist Church to be distributed to the local homeless population.
“I just want to make them feel better. Nothing’s better than what you need to survive,” he said.
Daeveon recieved the Mountaire Better Delmarva Award in September for his community service, an award his grandfather, Diaz Bonville, recommended him for. Daeveon wants to be a scientist when he grows up, with an interest in geology and archeology.
“Minerals, they touch me for some reason. They make me feel good. I just feel like I want to do it for fun,” he says of his interest in geology.
As for archeology, his interest is a bit more economical.
“I just want to do it for the money,” he joked.
Daeveon is currently taking part in the Rehoboth Empowers Dreams after-school program, where he has further gotten to indulge his interest in science and engineering.
“Right now, I’m in technology and engineering, and we are using drones for movies,” he said. “It’s really hard.”
Daeveon really gets excited talking about his robot, Mipp, which he got for Christmas.
“He can move by himself, he can move by movement, and he can move by app. You can make it look like a road, and he’ll move. You put up your hand, and he’ll stop. He can box, and he has little tiny laser beams,” he said.
Despite preparing to enter middle school, Daeveon already has his eye on college: he’s interested in University of Oregon because he is a fan of the football and soccer teams. For recreation, he practices karate five times a week.
The son of Carreras and Dilinda Deshields, Daeveon lives in the Midway area and attends Faith United Methodist Church in Rehoboth Beach. While he is soft-spoken and humble talking about himself, Daeveon has a big, easy smile and likes to joke around, particularly with his grandfather.
“They sometimes need to correct me,” he said of his parents. “Doing my stuff, cleaning my room, doing my responsibilities, not getting a pet. I want a husky. But there’s a man,” he trails off looking at Bonville, who cracks up at the thought before Daeveon finishes, “that doesn’t like dogs.”
“I’ll get a hamster, probably,” he finishes.
“As his grandfather I knew early on there was something special about Daeveon. He’s a bright little boy. Our family is very close. I’m trying to teach him to give back. And he has mastered that part. I don’t have to force him. We just want him to have fun, be a kid, be successful and learn, but pay it back, pay it forward and give back,” Bonville said.
Bonville, program director at West Side New Beginnings in West Rehoboth, said he encourages Daeveon to be a leader in school, not a follower.
Right on cue, Daeveon says, “Only follow the teachers.”
“He likes to correct me too,” Bonville jokes.
