By Leigh Ann Wagner Kroening
News-Chronicle
In the Charles Dickens' novel "Great Expectations," Pip wanted to do great things but didn't have the resources to go very far. An anonymous benefactor gave Pip the chance to succeed.
Similarly, the Great Expectations Scholarship administered through the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation is funded by an anonymous donor who wants students with great expectations to not be hampered by the financial inability to attend the best schools.
Two $40,000 Great Expectations Scholarships are awarded each year. It is the most prominent scholarship the foundation has.
"This is the Cadillac of scholarships," said Cathie Day, the constituent services director for the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation. "It's not just given to anyone. These students are very well-rounded and are going to make a difference in the world. They are just the brightest of the bright."
The foundation partners with Scholarships Inc., and students submit just one application for four scholarships available through the foundation. The applicants then are screened for the necessary criteria - financial need, choice of post-secondary school; and academic record, including grade-point average, extracurriculars, awards received, leadership roles served and community service completed - for the Great Expectations Scholarship.
To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must plan to attend one of 50 elite universities, such as Harvard, Yale or Stanford. This year only five applicants met all the requirements for the scholarship, and the donor hand selected the winners, Brian Lesperance and Eileen Shannon.
Both students have maintained nearly perfect grade-point averages while taking advanced placement classes at their high schools and a variety of college courses at St. Norbert College.
Lesperance, a senior at Southwest High School, will be attending Northwestern University to study electrical engineering. During his high school career, he was a member of the football team, National Honor Society and social studies academic team. He studied Latin and philosophy at St. Norbert.
Lesperance said he had never heard of the Great Expectations Scholarship until he learned he was a finalist for it. When he was notified he had won $40,000, he said he was "surprised and relieved."
Though he had been awarded thousands of dollars in grant aid from Northwestern and had applied for financial aid, he expected to still have to pay $10,000 to $15,000 of the $40,000-per-year tuition out of his pocket.
"It made me think a lot about my financial future," he said. "Now I can spend the next four years looking ahead and not constantly worrying how I'm going to pay off all these student loans."
Shannon, a senior at De Pere High School, will be attending the University of Notre Dame to study chemistry. In high school, she participated in track, cross country, National Honor Society, musical, math club and French club. She took calculus II, calculus III, Latin and chemistry at St. Norbert.
Shannon said the experience being in a college environment has made her feel all the more prepared for Notre Dame, which is her father's alma mater and has been the school of her dreams since she was a little girl.
Though she will take part in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and will receive thousands of dollars in financial aid, Shannon still expected to pay $10,000 a year of the $37,000 annual cost for her education, room and board. She said she was "astounded" to learn her out-of-pocket share will be covered by the scholarship.
"The donor has made this so much easier on me and on my family, and I just want to thank him or her so much," she said. "I think I'm going to appreciate going to Notre Dame a lot more knowing someone else had a hand in this. I'm not going to take my education for granted. I'm going to take advantage of every opportunity available to me and work really hard to make this person proud of me."
Howe named national model school
Howe Elementary School has been touted as a model school in a report released by the Coalition for Community Schools at a national policy-maker forum in Washington, D.C. The research and examples from across the nation demonstrate the positive effects family and communities have on student learning.
The report, "Making the Difference: Research and Practice in Community Schools," features Howe among 20 different community school models across the country that help improve student performance by mobilizing community resources in support of student learning.
Community schools, such as Howe, believe students have a better chance of succeeding if their physical, emotional, social and academic needs are all met. The schools use after-school, youth development, family support, health and mental health, parenting and adult education, employment and other services to meet those needs.
"We've witnessed firsthand the positive effects that come from integrating student learning and community," said Howe Principal Edward Dorff. "To be included in this report is long-awaited recognition that our school is indeed making the difference."
St. Joseph School launches arts integration program
Beginning with the fall semester, St. Joseph Catholic School is implementing an innovative educational program that weaves the arts throughout the core curriculum.
According to Pat Wadzinski, principal of St. Joseph School, the program is being launched to enhance learning skills and to motivate students to master the subjects of math, reading, English and science.
The program is based on brain-based studies that claim arts integration can provide significant contribution to scholastic achievement, while also promoting growth in self-confidence, self-control, self-identity, conflict resolution, collaboration, empathy, tolerance and leadership.
"It is our goal at St. Joseph School to promote these behavior qualities in our students to help them succeed in life and become our future leaders," Wadzinski said.
St. Joseph is the only school in Green Bay to weave the arts throughout the core curriculum. The K-8 school now is accepting enrollment for the fall. Children do not have to be Catholic to attend. For more information, call 497-7085.
Student philanthropists receive honors
Students from 10 area schools have been honored with Young Philanthropist Awards for their charitable work and fund-raising efforts. The awards are sponsored by the Friends of St. Vincent Hospital.
Three winners were honored, along with eight nominees. Winners who received Young Philanthropist Award trophies were:
Elementary School Award - Jackson Elementary School; Middle School Group - Trinity Catholic Middle School; Individual Award, High School - Tristan Shaft.
Young Philanthropist Award nominees who received honorable mention certificates were: St. Thomas More fourth grade; Our Lady of Lourdes crochet group; Drew Wisniewski from Notre Dame Academy; Southwest High School DECA; St. Philip the Apostle School student council; Holy Martyrs of Gorcum students; Southwest High School peer group/Future Business Leaders of America; and Jacqueline Szczepanski from Pulaski High School.
Students were honored at a reception at St. Vincent Hospital on May 12. This is the sixth year Friends of St. Vincent Hospital has recognized the philanthropic efforts of local students.
For more information or for nomination forms for next year's awards, call St. Vincent development associate Joan Donarski at 433-8058.
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