OGDEN — Monday, Dec. 16, just nine days before Christmas, was particularly merry and bright for three St. Joseph Catholic High School students. Reagan Schellhase and Spencer Leland were named winners in the Gifting Back…Skiing It Forward Stewardship Scholarship, and Xiangyal Tang received honorable mention. All three were awarded prize packages.
Reagan and Spencer each received a $3,000 ski equipment package that included skis, bindings, a helmet, goggles, lift tickets, accessories and other ski swag. Xiangyal got a backpack with ski accessories, lift tickets and swag valued at around $400.
The contest required each student to write an essay about giving back to the community.
Reagan, 15, a ninth grader, was diagnosed with cancer in January 2017; she finished treatment this past May.
“I wanted to share my story and why I do community service,” she said of writing the essay. “I was given back to a lot. I feel like now that I am able to do things and my body is healthy enough, I should do things for the community and the environment.”
Before Reagan became ill, she skied a lot, and returned to skiing as her health has improved, she said.
“I’m so happy; I was not expecting to win and I am over the moon about it,” she said.
Spencer, 15, who is in the 10th grade, said he has skied and snowboarded his whole life and was the first to get his essay in this year.
“I’ve always just loved skiing; it’s my main sport I do,” he said. “It’s amazing to win; I’m so excited.”
Both said they will hit the ski slopes as soon as possible.
Xiangyal, 18, is a senior exchange student from Chengdu, China. He tried skiing for the first time in Utah as Chengdu has a subtropical climate.
“It’s great; I love it,” he said of the sport.
This is the second consecutive year that students at St. Joseph’s have been recipients of the scholarship. Gifting Back founder Beau Parent said the program normally does not award scholarships to students at the same school two years in a row, but this year the St. Joseph essays “were better than anyone else.”
“They’ve also got some programs that really do a lot of good and they’re really trying to focus more on individual values; also caring for and trying to have programs in place to help those thinking about suicide,” he said.
The Gifting Back…Skiing It Forward Scholarship began nearly six years ago.
Each year Parent invites 50 high schools along the Wasatch Front and Park City to apply to have their students considered as recipients for the scholarship. Usually about 12 to 15 schools respond; all three Utah Catholic high schools participate, he said.
In addition to the student essays, each school must submit an essay indicating why its students should receive the scholarships. The past two years, St. Joseph Campus Minister John Lee has helped write those school essays, Principal Clay Jones said.
“This is a cool honor to have Beau choose us the second year in a row,” Jones said. “It’s an honor to have the kids recognized for service because that’s something that a lot of times people don’t necessarily recognize – those people behind the scenes that are helping with soup kitchens, food drives, going to Bridging the Gap (a Catholic Community Services of Northern Utah program that provides food packages for elementary school children) and things like that.”
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