Peter John Feldsine

Perpetual Scholarship

Students at St. Monica Parish School submitted essays to receive the $2500 Peter J. Feldsine Memorial Scholarship. All students worked very hard. This is the second year that two students, instead of one, will be selected to receive the scholarship, based on quality and sincerity of their essays.

Esaay 1: A certain Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world." I believe that is a good quote to live by and follow. Some people are not as privileged as I am and they cannot go to school or get an education. Much less a catholic education. I believe I am lucky to go to this school because when I grow up, I will benefit a lot. For example...

 I am in Girl Scouts right now, and sometimes, my troop and I go out and help the community by planting trees, helping at shelters, cleaning up the park, and things of the sort. When I grow older, I think doing acts of charity like that would be good for the heart and soul. You get a happy feeling when helping out other people and they appreciate it. Like Albert Einstein once said, "A life not lived for others is not a life worthwhile."

 When I grow older, I would like to be a teacher. On a daily basis, I like to help others with homework, computer problems, spelling, or whatever my classmates ask for. Being a teacher would mean sharing my knowledge with others and that is something I love to do. There are many benefits of being a teacher. You have a second home, almost a second family, and you make connections with your present students and past students that come back to visit and say "Hi." You kind of get a little happy feeling inside your heart when people come back to thank you and compliment your teaching and knowledge.

 Each teacher in this school is an influence and a leader. They always greet you with a friendly smile and are always there for you when you need help. It would be a privilege to be a teacher here. Catholic education is a great thing to have in your life.

Essay 2: A catholic education can affect your life greatly. It is even affecting mine right now. I would worry a lot more if I didn't talk to God and have someone to help me. This education will affect my entire life and change the decisions that I will make. It also just makes me happier knowing that God is there for me and that he will help me through hard times.

Also it could help in the future to get a job or to help others. For instance being a teacher you might have to teach religion. If you didn't go to a catholic school and know about the Faith you wouldn't be able to help your students and you might teach them wrong. Knowledge of the catholic faith is very valuable and you should try to pass it down through the  generations. Even if you didn't teach at a catholic school, having a catholic faith will help you understand your students in a way that someone without the Faith couldn't.

 If a student is just sad inside and has no energy left to do anything, a teacher who isn't catholic might just say to keep going and try harder. A teacher who has had a catholic education would comfort them and ask for them to thell them what's wrong because they would know how it feels to talk to god about their problems and how it makes them feel lighter and happier.

 If you plan to help the homeless or the less fortunate when you grow up, then having a catholic education will help you bond with them. Let's say that a homeless man or woman who was feeling sad because they had no one else who knew or believed in the faith. You could make them feel like they are not alone and that someone else is there for you. Like there is someone to talk to about what you believe in.

Right now this essay would not be in front of me if there was no catholic education. The child that this is in memory of had a catholic education just like I am getting now. He had such a helpful heart that his family wanted to create a scholarship so that more children could have a catholic education like him.

 It is good to have a catholic educaiton no matter what you plan to do when you grow up. You benefit greatly if you go to a catholic school. I plan to use my education of the Faith a lot when I grow up. My Grandpa always said that a catholic Faith doesn't just make it easier to help others or get a job. He says that it makes you happy to have knowledge of what you believes are and of your own religion. And I believe that. I think I am happier here than I would be anywhere else.