William Penn Life, 2010 (45. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2010-11-01 / 11. szám

Students applying for grants through the William Penn Fraternal Association Scholarship Foundation were asked to submit, among their application materials, an essay discussing the topic: “If I could interview someone, either in the past or present, who would it be and why?” All essays were read and judged by members of the Foundation’s Executive Committee, and the best essays were selected for special recognition. Many fine essays were submitted, reflecting the outstanding fraternal spirit of our young member-scholars. Prizes in the form of additional cash grants were awarded to the top three essays among both new and renewal applicants. We proudly publish those six winning essays here.

First Prize - New Students - $500 Jody McGraw, Branch 44 Akron, OH

HIS LEGEND is printed on millions of pages in thousands of books. His image has been sculpted, molded, painted and engraved into the memorials we hold dear. His wisdom and insight helped form this nation, and he led his country through its birth to solidify its place in the world. The man is George Washington. Yes, he was an amazing leader (he was elected to run this country right off the bat), a wonderful commander (he helped win America her freedom), and a humble man (he refused to be titled as king) but those are not the reasons why I would love the chance to interview him: he predicted our future. George Washington knew what would be the United States' weaknesses or downfalls before our country was even a few decades old. This analysis he made into the workings of governments past and present is why I so admire this great man.

As he said goodbye to the highest office in the land, Washington foretold the future problems of the U.S. government; warning against a party system, encouraging unity, stressing the importance of morality, cautioning the danger of buying on credit, and advising against making permanent alliances with foreign lands. I wonder what Mr. "Father of Our Country" would think of his precious child today—a war-torn, bipartisan wasteland. Would he be disappointed that her leaders and her citizens ignored his advice? Would he want to help out and restore her to her former glory? Or would he say "I told you so"? Our country as a whole admires this man, we remember his legacy with pride in our hearts but would he do the same if he took a look at us? This man is the ultimate definition of self-sacrificing. He risked his life daily on the battlefield to fight for our freedoms and continued to lead this nation after her conception to ensure she was taken care of. This man is the model of who we should all aspire to be. Washington said: "The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism." I envy Mr. Washington's pride, his dedication, and his leadership and that is why I would like to interview him. Most of us will never experience the importance Washington had on our country, however, as he said, we all have our own part of America and it is our duty to make it the best possible America it can be. □

First Prize - Renewal Students - $500 Ilona Relle, Branch 129 Columbus, OH

WALTER DISNEY had a dream of a place where all people of all ages could enjoy. He made this dream come true by creating the Disney parks. Today these parks and the Disney name are known throughout the entire world. I would love to get the opportunity to get to interview Walt Disney because I admire the Disney name, and to get to meet the guy who was behind and started the Disney name would be incredible.

Ever since I was younger I have grown up loving the Disney characters. I would love to ask him where he got his inspiration for making up some of these characters. For example, how did he come up with the main character Mickey Mouse? Why did he decide that the main character would be a mouse? To me a mouse is somewhat of a disgusting character so I would just love to know how he made a mouse become something that kids would want to watch. Also, I would love to know how he came up with the characteristics of these characters. Are these characters representative of some of the people that he knew in his life or are they just what he imagined?

By walking into the parks you can definitely tell that he was very imaginative by having a castle at the end of the walkway. However, there is so much mystery that is left for the visitor to ponder about. Like are there really tunnels underneath the ground and does someone actually live in the castle? All of these questions are left for your imagination and partially make the parks so magical. I would love to get these questions answered.

Since the day that Walter Disney died, the Disney name has expanded into a huge enterprise. I would love to ask if this Disney name now is what he envisioned it back then of what it would become. If it is not, is he happy with the way it turned out, or does it not fit in with the main goals that he hoped for the company?

All of these questions I have wondered since I was a little kid, and I would love to get to interview him to get these unanswered questions answered. □

'/rf-O'Ves

>

William Penn Life 0 November 2010 0 15