"What happens to a dream deferred?" asked the poet Langston Hughes. Too often, a soul can dry up when hope and possibilities are taken away.
But with the assistance of the Catholic Education Foundation's "Save Our Students" (SOS) program, hope and possibilities --- and dreams --- come alive for young people. Huge hurdles can be removed from their lives, with the education and support found in a Catholic school.
This fall, two SOS award students currently completing eighth grade at Nativity School, El Monte, will attend Don Bosco Technical Institute, Rosemead. Both young men, student council leaders at Nativity School, have seen the result of what happens when those less fortunate are enabled.
That's because Dominic Hernandez and Alejandro De La Torre have not only benefited from the foundation's support, they have extended themselves in service to others who need help. When they were in fifth grade, they led the effort to create what became known as "Dominic's Playground" at St. Odilia School in South Los Angeles. They raised money, enlisted the support of others, and together with the CEF, were able to provide new and safe playground equipment and a play area for a school that didn't have one.
"All little kids need to play," Dominic said at the time. "It's good for everyone."
And now Dominic, Alejandro and fellow eighth graders at Nativity have taken on another project: providing new desks for San Miguel School in South L.A., after their principal, Sister of St. Louis Stacy Reineman, told them what she had found on her recent visit to San Miguel.
"All the desks in the school are pretty beat up," notes Alejandro. "Sister Stacy asked the eighth grade if we were willing to sacrifice our eighth grade gift to our school and instead give the gift to San Miguel."
In response, students held a recent fundraiser, "and people didn't just buy food, they donated money, too," says Alejandro. "Like for nachos, instead of one dollar people paid five. We made about $500, and we plan to do more."
Inspired by her students, Sister Reineman has also "challenged the principals from my deanery. These children at San Miguel don't deserve hand-me-downs; they deserve better. My goal is to get some of these principals on board so we can buy them desks."
As recipients of tuition assistance from the CEF, Alejandro, Dominic and so many others have found that giving back - paying forward - is not just a choice, it is a necessary part of life. Even when their own circumstances have given them plenty of opportunity to say, "forget it."
"Both of them have really struggled with things in their lives that I cannot even imagine, and they have overcome them," says Sister Reineman. "They have never used their hard lot in life as an excuse. What impresses me is their determination to help the less fortunate."
But none of this would have been possible without the SOS tuition award, which Dominic and Alejandro have received while attending Nativity. The SOS program, created by Ruth and Richard Orford in 1998, has helped students across the archdiocese who, facing extraordinary personal circumstances, are in danger of dropping out of school. These children, often called "at risk," are provided with the assistance with SOS funds which, in turn, open the possibility of a future that only a good education with structure and values can provide.
Recently, Dominic came to Sister Reineman with a dilemma.
"Sister," he said, "I've always wanted to be an architect." He told her that with those skills he would be able to build houses for the poor. Yet he also loves gardening, and if he teaches people how to properly grow food it might be better than a house because then he would be feeding the poor.
"So this was his dilemma," says the principal. "Does he use the talents God gave him with gardening to help the poor, or does he follow his dream to be an architect to help the poor?" She pauses, in admiration. "What 13-year-old worries about feeding the poor? That's the quality of these boys."
Alejandro, asked what kind of person he would like to be in 20 years, responds, "I'd like other people to recognize that Alejandro was a good guy. He really understood people and he was the kind of person to go to if you need help."
Does he do those things now? "Yes. I feel that helping other people helps me be a better person. What kind of person would I be if I didn't help others? I strongly believe in God and loving my enemies. I just do it from the heart.
"My mom really pushes me to try harder. She kind of gets on me a lot - kind of irritating - but it works. It kind of sets a standard for me to reach that level. I love my mom a lot. She supported us whenever we needed it."
As they prepare to enter Don Bosco Tech this fall, Alejandro and Dominic have clearly made an impression on other students at Nativity as well. Alejandro smiles as he talks of his little brothers in second grade, and their own dreams.
"They walk around," he says, "saying they're going to be Don Bosco men, too." |