Powhatan High School student Vilius Bruzas can tell you all sorts of things about Chuck Norris.  He can tell you about Norris’ movies, including Delta Force, which just happens to be his personal favorite. He can tell you why Norris makes an excellent role model for young people.

There was one day last month, however, that Bruzas had a hard time saying anything at all. That was the day the front office staff at Powhatan High School told him that he would get the chance to meet his hero in person.

“He loves to talk and [even] he was speechless,” joked PHS secretary Carol Antone, one of the conspirators who secretly arranged for Bruzas to meet with Norris when the actor spoke at Liberty University’s graduation ceremony on May 10.

Bruzas served as an aid in the front office of the school and had made no secret of his admiration for Norris.

“We just thought, ‘wouldn’t it be neat if we could make this happen,’” said Antone, whose daughter was graduating from Liberty that day.

She and guidance secretary Judy Ringgold found a contact at Liberty who arranged for Bruzas to meet with the actor, who most recently starred on the CBS series “Walker, Texas Ranger.”

Bruzas, whose cerebral palsy confines him to a wheelchair, says he’s been a tremendous fan of Norris’ since he was twelve years old. But even if Norris gained famed for beating up bad guys, Bruzas could not resist a joke at his newfound friend’s expense.

“I thought he would be taller,” joked the PHS senior, who now has Norris’ autograph in a scrapbook at home.

He said he was thrilled at the opportunity the staff at PHS had given him and counted it among the top experiences of his high school career.

On a scale of one to ten, he said, “I give it a 10.”