All Students Challenged!

For more than a decade The Father Ted Colleton Scholarship program has presented a unique opportunity to senior (16-18 yrs) secondary school students. They have been challenged to express their views on life and family issues by writing an essay on a stated theme. Co-sponsored by Canada’s pro-life newspaper The Interim and Niagara Region Right to Life, the program has drawn more than 700 contestants during its first ten years.

Dan Di Rocco, retired secondary school principal and co-ordinator for the scholarship honouring pro-life hero Father Ted Colleton, says that the program offers great insight into the thinking of young people on life issues. He says that “the candidates make their schools and families proud. They invariably are outstanding students, not just academically, but in their involvement in school and community life”. There is much to hope for when it comes to a pro-life future in Canada.  “The young are brave, outspoken and quite eloquent in the way they express their convictions” adds Di Rocco.

The essay theme for this 2012-2013 school year is:

Effective witness in the public square requires a new focus on what is important to young people. What can be done to convince young people, your peer group, that “the life issues are not only genuine social-justice issues; but they are the priority social-justice issues”?

Three prizes are awarded, $1500, $800 and $500 respectively. The program is open to senior secondary school students from around the world. The deadline for applications is November 30. Essay component must be submitted in either English or French language. Details regarding application and timelines may be found at http://www.theinterim.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Colleton-Scholarship-2012-13.pdf . A short biography of Father Ted Colleton is available at www.theinterim.com.