Scholarship
Each Spring, the Frankfort Township Republican Organization offers two $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors at Lincoln-Way North and Lincoln-Way East High Schools.
In order to qualify for the scholarship, the applicant must be a resident of Frankfort Township and be accepted into an accredited trade school, college or university by the Fall of his graduation year. Applicants to the scholarship will need to fill out a simple application form, obtainable at their high school, and submit a short original essay by March 23, 2012 to the Frankfort Township Republican Organization, 20821 Briarwood Lane, Mokena, Illinois 60448.
The topic of the essay is up to the student. Typical topics are as follows: Discuss the viability of the free enterprise system in the U.S. and how to foster individual initiative. How is the the Republican Party the best medium to transform positive principles of government into action. How can citizens ensure that local, state and national governments practice sound fiscal principles. What safeguards can best protect the dignity, responsibility and freedom of individuals. How can citizens ensure that national strength and pride be maintained. Is the best form of government that which governs least? Who is your political role model and how do you see this person's attributes influencing your future? What ideas would you submit to either the Frankfort Township Supervisor, Will County Board Chairman, the Illinois Governor, or the U.S. President. How will you strive to improve the world. Why is it important to be a registered voter and how should one exercise their right to vote.
The scholarship applicants will be determined by a panel of Committeemen based upon the applicant's essay, application, grade point average/ class rank and financial need. Scholarship winners of both high schools will each receive a check payable to the trade school, college or university in which he/she chooses to attend.
The FTRO is proud to advance these scholarship opportunities to local high school students, and to promote a better community and government by providing further education to our own upcoming graduates.
Monica Randall’s 2011 winning essay from Lincoln-Way North: How Volunteerism Changed My Life
I grew up emulating the great and unstoppable. Creepy though it may seem, Ralph Waldo Emerson was always smiling down on me from my ceiling when I awoke in the morning. To me, great minds and achievers like Emerson had reached a sort of perfection – they were prodigies. I wanted to obtain that level of success.
So it was no surprise that during high school it seemed to me that my life was becoming a pathetic story of failure. I played the forward water polo position, but I was only on the JV team. I won several medals as a novice Speech Team member, but I never placed first. I had failed; it was already my junior year and I was nothing close to a prodigy.
The fall of my junior year, I nursed my emotional wounds (ones brought on by the influx of “failure) every Saturday while teaching children’s swim lessons as a volunteer for the South Suburban Special Recreational Association. Since I had experience teaching swim lessons, they let me design my own lesson plan. I was making a difference while concurrently nurturing the teacher inside me. I couldn’t help feeling a little prodigal.
The challenge was that the children I was teaching were disabled. Coming home from the first Saturday session, I doubted that some of the kids would ever be able to swim. One autistic boy, Andy, was causing me the most distress. I’d get in the pool and talk to him, hold him under the arm pits and coax him encouragingly, but he’d just giggle. Despite my doubts, by week five, Andy was kicking from the side of the wall. I longed to see Andy succeed; I wanted to see the boy swim. On the last day of class, I threw floating toys all around the pool, them I implored, “Andy, doesn’t that whale look fun? Why don’t you swim over and grab it?” To my disbelief, he straightened his legs, kicked over to the toy and snatched it up with glee. Andy, in his own way, swam!
I knew Andy would never swim like Michael Phelps, but despite all odds, he improved. I recalled my sulking over how I still wasn’t a prodigy, and finally realized how silly I had been. During high school I had gone from singing the little Mermaid’s “Part of Your World” in the cafeteria for a band fundraiser to singing the National Anthem in front of hundreds at a varsity basketball game. I may not have sung at the Super Bowl, but I had done something amazing. I had improved. So I let go of my dreams of becoming a prodigy, and I aspired to what truly matters – improvement. And yes, I still hold on to Emerson for my inspiration, but now he smiles at me from a reasonable place on my bedroom wall.
Zachary Jones' 2011 winning essay from Lincoln-Way East: Role of Government
We live in the greatest country in the world – the United States of America. Many lives were sacrificed in order to institute our republican form of government. This style of government would not be sustainable, however, without specific guidelines that laid out the role of government in the citizen’s lives. The two primary documents that laid out our liberties and the role of government were the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.
The Declaration of Independence stated that every person has the unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; these rights were granted by God. Our founding fathers determined that a central government with a limited and enumerated powers is the only possible way to guarantee the individual rights and freedoms necessary for a society to thrive. They understood the fragility of a republican form of government; they therefore wrote the Constitution which laid out the specific powers that were granted to the government by the people. The 10th Amendment was created to solidify this limitation: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Benjamin Franklin understood this principle very clearly. Upon leaving the Constitutional Convention, he was asked what form of government they had created for the people. He responded, “A republic, for as long as you can keep it.” Franklin knew that the government’s growth in size and power would come at the cost of liberty. Unfortunately, the fears of our founding fathers have been proven prescient.
The roles and limitations originally assigned to the federal government provided individual liberties that drove our success. The power of this freedom was displayed when innovation led to a great expansion of our economy during the twentieth century. The economy was self-regulating without any need for government intervention and the nation’s economic standing continued to grow in the world. In recent decades, however, the federal government began to regulate and control more and more aspects of economics and social elements of the nation. This governmental expansion has come at great financial cost. In 2011, the United States federal budget is 3.7 trillion dollars; 1.6 trillion of this will be debt. Our current total debt is approximately 14 trillion dollars. Yet this expansion of power and assumption of debt has led only to deterioration of the quality of our institution. In order to reverse this trend and ensure America’s greatness into the future, we must restore the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the states and the people.
The question we now face is this: will our country remain great? Will the current generation of leaders step up to this challenge? Will our future generations be determined to return our government to the original intent? I am determined to be part of the solution. I intend to help return this country to its dominant standing.
Molly Beil’s 2010 Winning Essay from L-W North
There are many problems facing the world today. It sometimes feels impossible as one small person to make a change. For the past two years, I have been dedicated to a specific cause in order to do my part in changing the world.
Two years ago, while attending a Christ InYouth Conference with my youth group, I first learned about Rapha House. Rapha House is an organization in Cambodia dedicated to rescuing young women who are victims of sex trafficking and giving them a safe place to live. They take the girls in, love them and counsel them, while also giving them an education or training in a specific trade so that they can become a contributing member of society. This job training is very important as many girls end up back in slavery or sex trafficking with nowhere to go and no means of supporting themselves. When I learned about these girls and the horrible things they have had to suffer, my heart broke for them. I was affected by their stories, as were others in my youth group, and although they were located on the other side of the world, we wanted to do something to help the girls at Rapha House.
Last summer, my friend Lauren came to me with an idea: a Hair Salon to raise money for Rapha House. We started planning right way because we really wanted to make it happen this time. We picked a date that was the same day as the Homecoming dance for three high schools in the area so that the girls could come to get their hair, nails, and make-up done for the dance. Lauren was in charge of recruiting and contacting volunteers, making sure they had all the information they needed, as well as collecting donations of supplies. While Lauren was away college for most of the planning, I handled everything that needed to be done at home such as advertising for the event, signing up girls for appointment times, making flyers, and collecting supplies. We also had to come up with suggested donation prices. On the day of the salon, we arrived at our church early in the morning to set up each station. We had seven hair dressers, two nail artists, and one make-up artist as well as other volunteers who were collecting donations, making sure things ran smoothly, and informing those there about Rapha House. The salon was open for six hours and with the help of twenty volunteers we had thirty girls come through. We were able to raise $1,725 for Rapha House. The event was such a success that we are planning on making it an annual event at our church. We are not only raising awareness of a global issue, but we are doing our part to change the world. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of them and even if it is in a small way, I am going to continue to do whatever I can to change their world.
For more information on Rapha House, please visit http://www.raphahouse.org
Vanessa Stokes 2010 Winning Essay from L-W East
I am the oldest of four siblings. I am also the only girl. Growing up, my brothers always looked up to me. I loved school, and everything about it. I came home every day and played “school” with my brothers. I would pretend to be their teacher. I had an attendance chart, a seating chart, and would even give them homework assignments. Ever since childhood I have loved teaching and helping people do new things. Whether it was helping my brothers with their multiplication or teaching them how to do a trick on the trampoline, I was there to facilitate. I have discovered that teaching is my life calling, and I want to be a teacher someday. I will strive to change the world by teaching.
Over the years, I have had many experiences with teaching children, who are at early childhood age. Since I am the oldest sibling, I have had many opportunities to babysit. I would not only watch my brothers for my mom, but I was also asked to watch my brother’s friends for their parents. I would go to their friend’s houses, watch them for a few hours, and help them with their homework. This helped me lean responsibility and how to work with kids. In addition, I also volunteered to be an assistant teacher for St. Mary’s Religious Education Program. I went every Saturday morning to teach the three and four year olds. We taught them prayers, and I was able to work with them in the activities for that day. I would help them cut, color, and pay attention. I have enjoyed working with the young kids and hope my influence on them will help them change the world for the better.
Besides working with really young kids, I have also gotten a chance to work with older kids. This year I am a Senior Peer Mentor. I was chosen to be in a freshman study hall and give them advice throughout the school year. Every Friday I am given a topic to talk about with them, such as: peer pressure, getting involved in school, and school events. I was very nervous at first, because I didn’t know what to expect. Now, after doing it for the past month, I love it. I feel like I am impacting their lives and helping make good decisions. I am getting a lot of experience being in front of the class talking like a normal teacher would. Also, this year I volunteered to be a teaching assistant for eighth graders at St. Mary’s Religious Program. I go every Wednesday night and teach my brother’s class. I take attendance and am allowed to lead daily lessons. This is a big opportunity because I am responsible for teaching specific materials. Even though older kids may be more difficult to handle, I still enjoy teaching them. In addition to the younger children, I want to influence older kids to change the world for the better.
No matter what happens in the future, I hope my childhood dream of becoming a teacher comes true. The career of being a teacher is very important since it impacts future generations of leaders. Teaching them good morals and values can be very important in changing the world for the better.
