The Coolest Kid on Campus : ‘I didn’t panic,’ says third-grader who rescued drowning toddler, ‘which is unusual because usually I’m a panic-type person.’

Enjoying a hero’s welcome at her elementary school--which included a thrilling police car ride, media interviews and the cheers of hundreds of her classmates--the third-grader who saved a drowning toddler last month paused Wednesday to reflect on the dazzling events.

“This,” Samantha Yap said, “is really cool.”

Presented with a citizenship award by Garden Grove police officers, the 8-year-old smiled and waved shyly as her fellow students crowded the school’s tether ball courts to catch a glimpse of the campus hero and the patrol car’s flashing lights.

When a reporter asked her to recount her bravery, the animated youngster rolled her eyes, sighed and said, “Well, I’ve told the story about a million times already. . . .”

On a sunny Friday afternoon last month, Samantha and her sister were playing with friends at the community pool in her trailer park. The game of the day was to dive and pluck a set of keys from the pool bottom. But the bright red, plastic heart attached to the key ring caught the eye of 1-year-old Shelah Jurik, who was sitting on the pool’s steps watching the game.

Some adults were nearby, but everything happened so fast, and the glare on the pool was so bright, that the toddler sank to the bottom before anyone knew she was in the water. Except Samantha, that is.

“I said to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s really underwater!’ So I went down and I picked her up like this,” Samantha said, hefting her framed Super Citizen Award certificate in both arms as if holding an infant. “And I pulled her out. Just like that.”

Shelah was unconscious when her mother, Ulla Jurik, began cardiopulmonary resuscitation at poolside. Shelah’s eyes fluttered open just as the ambulance sirens drew close to the Willowick trailer park.

“I didn’t panic, which is unusual because usually I’m a panic-type person,” Samantha explained as her fellow classmates filed past, craning their necks to see the school’s most celebrated student. Her mother, Jana Yap, stood nearby with a video camera and a broad smile.

“I’m so proud of her,” Yap said. “The adults at the pool, we didn’t expect it, and we weren’t paying enough attention. I’m just glad Samantha was a quick thinker.”

School Principal Jane Jones said Samantha’s deed has been the talk of the campus.

“I heard some of the older kids talking--they’re really impressed,” Jones said. “She’s just become a wonderful role model for these kids.”

And role models have demands on their time. Samantha said she knows she’ll have to tell her story many more times, so she might bring a photo of Shelah to school to show her classmates. As she prepared to head off to class, her mom stopped her and pointed to the certificate.

“Do you want Mommy to take that home or do you want to take it to class?” she asked.

Samantha paused and looked down at the carefully lettered document in the shiny frame. “What are you thinking about, Mom?”

With that, the towheaded heroine of Clinton-Mendenhall Elementary headed off to class, but she didn’t make it 20 yards before two classmates stopped her to inspect the certificate and hear Samantha’s story one more time