Building a Better World

The 2004 OEA Building A Better World Scholarship winners are:

• Angela Vitto – Global Awareness ($650)
• Shannon Smith – Community Involvement ($650)
• Nick Waldo – Independent Travel ($650)

Congratulations to Angela, Shannon, and Nick – two stellar student athletes, and an explorer.  Our winners this year are already involved in the world.  Angela and Shannon are multiple sport honor roll students and off to college – Angela at Benedictine in Chicago and Shannon to Central.  Nick flys.  And he used our scholarship to go to a fascinating place in a totally unique way.  Please check separate links highlighted above to get a better insight into each of these fine young graduates.  Nice job Eagles.

from Amanda’s winning essay…

“If I were to take a road trip, it would be to New York City.  My friend Nick and I would drive there and stay for a week.  A place to stay would be taken care of because on my previous trip I met a woman, Boyd, who lives in Brooklyn, New York.  She is a close friend of my uncle’s and would let us stay with her for the week.  We would bring sleeping bags and a change of clothes, since we need little else.  You may be asking  yourself why I want to go to New York City, since I’ve already been there and plan to live there in the near future.  This trip would not just be a vacation; there are two reasons why I want to go…

The first reason stems from my appreciation and interest in civil rights and the Civil Rights Movement.  In Sheridan Square of Harlem, there was a club called Cafe Society.  It is there that Billy Holiday first encountered “Strange Fruit.”  “Strange Fruit” is a song that became well known because of Holiday but  was actually written by a Jewish American teacher in the Bronx.  The composer, Lewis Allen, is interesting because his life became intertwined in the “red scare” after he adopted the sons of two suspected communist spies, Ethel and Julius Rosenburg.  I want to go to the Cafe Society to see if it is still there or what it has evolved into.  I hope to run into some individuals who can tell me more about the cafe’s history.  It was the first desegregated cafe in Harlem, so there has to be some history there.”

In the summer of 2005 Amanda spent five days with Nick in New York City.  Cafe Society was no longer around…but the two of them found the spirit of Billy Holiday on the streets of Harlem.

from Kendall’s winning essay…

“Many people are unaware of the world around them.  Most of these people are not stupid  they just haven’t taken the time to become aware of everything that happens in the world.   A really good example of people not having global awareness is the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq.  A majority of the people who support the war cannot exactly tell you why this war is right.  People make ignorant comments about Saddam Hussein and how he has weapons of mass destruction, or how Osama Bin Laden is from Afghanistan.  It is these kinds of people that stereotype us all. By being globally aware you break stereotypes…

As a teenager I am America’s future.  I can take two paths in life; the road where I believe everything I am told and follow blindly, or I can take the road were I question the way things are being accomplished.   I choose the path of knowledge.  I refuse to walk the path of blindness.  I want to be a person who is open minded to other people’s beliefs and lifestyles.  I was fortunate to grow up in a country that is free, and I have been raised to realize that mistakes will be made.  We must do our best to correct these mistakes, and try to help make a difference around the world.”

from Lyndsey’s winning essay…

“Newton’s second law states that for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction.  Knowing this to be true in regards to physics, I also believe it to be true in society.  By volunteering, a person does more than just help someone, they set in motion a reaction that has potential to change the world.  Being helped makes you want to help others.  Eventually, that one good deed you did may reach hundreds of other people.  It just takes one person with one idea to change the world and by helping others, you may be indirectly helping that one person to achieve their dream…

A lone sapling in a desolate field will have little chance against a pugilist wind and the searing glare of the sun, but surrounded by other trees, it will have the chance to thrive.  It is important that we help those standing alone in whatever way we can.”