|
Eighth-grade grads face hopeful futures
Two from Boys Hope graduate St. Pius X, head to Regis Jesuit High School
Claudia Cangilla McAdam
Untitled1
On Thursday, May 27, 39 eighth-graders will be graduating from St. Pius X school in Aurora,
and counted in that group are two young men who are part of Boys Hope Girls Hope of Colorado.
And because of that residential scholarship program, Kyle and J.J. are looking forward to bright
tomorrows.
The two boys have each lived for about a year and a half at Boys Hope in a family
setting they both appreciate.
"It's real fun," said J.J. "We're all very close, and the house parents are just like your
mom and dad."
"It's a long-term commitment to a child," said Debbie O'Dwyer, executive director of
the program. The boys of grade school age attend St. Pius, and the older ones go to Regis Jesuit
High School.
"The children have to be academically capable to thrive in a college preparatory
school," O'Dwyer said. "We provide everything for them — clothing, meals, medical needs and their
education."
While the boys who come to Boys Hope don't have severe emotional issues or
judicial problems, they may be at risk because of their home environments. Life at Boys Hope
provides stability and support.
"It's a good experience because you live with seven other boys," said Kyle. "You learn
to adapt to how they act and feel, and you learn how to talk to them."
Residential counselor Kirstin Broady (one of the house parents) has seen both boys
grow through their involvement with Boys Hope and their education at St. Pius. Kyle's teacher told
her that Kyle seems so much happier and that he commented in a big-eyed way that at the home,
"they even eat dinner together every night."
As for J.J., "I've seen him grow in self-control," she said. "He's a leader in the school and
is liked by a lot of people."
Deb Roberts is the principal at St. Pius.
"We have one goal in mind," she said, "and that's success for these boys. We
work collaboratively with Boys Hope to make sure that happens. There's a lot of supervision, a lot
of checking in, a lot of love, a lot of care."
The boys who work hard and meet the requirements are able to attend Regis Jesuit
High School as part of the scholarship program. Father Walter Sidney, S.J., is president of Regis and
a Boys Hope board member.
"The young men from Boys Hope are marvelous kids with great potential," he said.
"It's exciting to see them come here and blossom with the potential that they have."
Although Boys Hope accepts boys of all faiths, both Kyle and J.J. are Catholics. The value
of a Catholic education is not lost on either one of them.
"It helps your relationship with God," Kyle said. "You can go to church regularly. At
our school we participate in Mass every Friday, and we go with Boys Hope whenever we're at
the house."
"Boys Hope teaches you to be a man for others and to try to give yourself up to others,"
J.J. added. "That's what our school promotes as well."
The transition to Regis is one both boys embrace. "I like the whole brotherhood
atmosphere at Regis," Kyle said.
"Kyle and I are going to grow spiritually," J.J. predicted. "Regis prepares you for college,
and we'll develop skills that will benefit us for life."
After high school, J.J. would like to study biology and perhaps religious history while
Kyle has his eye set on attending Columbia University's film school.
Wherever they go and whatever they do, they'll draw upon the values they've learned and
the love they've experienced at Boys Hope and in Catholic schools. It's a combination sure to
yield hopeful futures for both boys.
Boys Hope has two openings for the school year beginning in August. Students must
be between the ages of 10 and 14. For more information, contact Laurie Keefe at 720-524-9110.
|
