2024 Higher Ed Scholarship
Winner’s Essay
By Alvaro Bejarano Guardia
When I was 8 years old, my grandmother and my mother taught me that every Christmas in our town they make “chocolatada” which is to make a dinner with chocolate and bread with ham for people with limited resources, whether they are homeless adults or children or families without money.
My grandmother worked in a foundation that helps people without money to find a better future. On Christmas Day she told me “Let’s go to dinner and you can meet many friends at my work” and I, like any child, accepted. We arrived and I remember seeing a boy younger than me wearing a shirt like the one I had when I was younger, and I said to my grandmother, “Look, that boy has a shirt just like mine that cool,” and my grandmother smiled. I approached the boy and asked him if he wanted to play with me and he said yes, so we formed a nice friendship. Tired of playing we went to get a drink of water and started talking and he told me that he only lived with his mom and his four siblings, but they did not go to school, and my grandmother helped them. I felt sad for them and went to my grandmother to tell her what the boy told me and told her that I wanted to give my clothes to him and his family. Then my grandmother was happy and told me that she was already doing it and the shirt he had was mine and I realized how supportive she was.
The next day we went with my mom, my grandmother, and my sister to the woman’s house with a lot of clothes for them and the boy’s mom crying told me “Thank you for how good you were with my son, you are just like your grandmother” and she gave me a kiss on my forehead. I felt incredibly good about what she said and from then on, I started to accompany my grandmother to all the “chocolatada” for 8 years. My grandmother taught me that solidarity is fundamental in any society because it promotes social cohesion, empathy, and common welfare. Solidarity implies acting for the benefit of others, especially those who are vulnerable or in need. There are several reasons why providing support is essential, so you should support others because you never know when you will need help.
Two teachers shared their successful lessons on Larry Ferlazzo’s blog published in Education Week.