Our Best, Brightest Students Win 5 of 6 Awards at Argo-Summit Bedford Park Annual Essay Contest

Some of the best and brightest students at St. Joseph School recently maintained and strengthened the SJS tradition of academic excellence in the annual essay contest sponsored by the Argo-Summit Bedford Park Woman’s Club.



Our winners at the ceremony in Bedford Park.

In a crowded field---630 students competed---five of the six "medal" awards were earned by St. Joseph students.


The stunning triumph was announced at a recent ceremony at the Bedford Park Community Building.

St. Joseph made a clean sweep of all three medals in the top tier (sixth, seventh and eighth grades) of the competition. Heading home with medals around their necks were first place winner and eighth grader Shawn Davis; second place winner and eighth grader Eddie Dornbos; and third place winner and sixth grader Christian Dudlo.



Our winners pose for a victory shot back at school.

 In the younger tier (fourth and fifth grades) of the competition, St. Joseph students Brianna Camacho (fifth grade) won second place, and Olivia Garcia (fourth grade) won third place.

First place in the younger tier was won by Salvador Macias of Wharton School.

Making St. Joe's victory even sweeter was the news that Shawn Davis was declared the overall winner of the entire contest, capping off a great evening.


Appropriately, Shawn's name will be engraved on the contest's traveling award plaque, which will be on display at St. Joseph School for an entire year.

This will be the third year in a row that the plaque is on display at St. Joseph School---which is said to be a record for any school in the competition.

Additionally, the Club also presented both Shawn and the St. Joseph School Library with a monetary award.

Right behind our five medal winners were nine St. Joe's students who earned "honorable mention" certificates: Maggie Gamboa, Courtney Hughes, Samantha Prado, Vincent Dinon, Gabriella Beggs, Adam Kus, Aidan Patino, Breeana Valdez,  and Christopher Grab.

The theme of this year's essay contest is "When I grow up, I want to be.....because..."  (Text of the winning essay is posted below.)

Congratulations to all our winners---as well as their parents, teachers and everyone else who guides and supports them in the development of their talents!



Our medalists.





Our "honorable mention" winners.

When I Grow Up I Want To Be …. Because....

By Shawn Davis

St. Joseph School

            When I was in first grade, I saw a picture of an astronaut floating in outer space, I was hooked! From that moment, I was interested in all things space. The planets, the stars, the moon, the sun, they all fascinated me. I wanted to be an astronaut. 

           Then, when I was in fourth grade, I saw a television program about the 2002 space shuttle Columbia exploding on re-entry. I felt sorry for the astronauts and their families, I was numb.  At that point I realized that I wanted to do something about it.  I wanted to help. I wanted to find a way to help make space travel safer for astronauts.  When I grow up, I want to be an aerospace engineer.  An aerospace engineer designs, constructs, and studies the science of aircraft and spacecraft.

            To achieve this goal, there are some things I plan to do and some things I am already doing.  An engineer must have a love for science and math, both which I have.  An engineer must also ask many questions. To the aggravation of my teachers, I have this trait as well.  For my freshman year of high school, I have enrolled in a drafting class to begin learning design. Throughout high school I plan to take as many science and math classes that I can.  I plan to attend a college known for its engineering programs, such as the University of Illinois-Champaign or M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

            Aerospace engineering is important to space travel and air travel because an engineer is involved in almost every single aspect of spaceflight.  Engineers not only design the spacecraft, they over see the construction and testing of each part of the craft. Engineers are so important to a space flight, that there is at least one on every space flight. If something goes wrong on a flight, the engineers on the “ground” figure out what to do and the engineer in the “air” does it. 

            Sadly, though, I may be out of a job before I apply.  NASA recently announced budget cuts in 2010, and launched their last space shuttle mission in 2011.  I believe our space program will return, but even if I can not work for NASA, there is still a market for aerospace engineers.  They also design airplanes and cars.   Truly, it is my dream to fly as high as I can.  My first grade teacher always said I had my head in the clouds!

            My dream to be an aerospace engineer is a big goal, one that will take hard work and perseverance to achieve.  I believe in my dream.  I believe that if I make the right choices, continue studying hard, and follow my heart, my dream can take to the skies.  As Walt Disney said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

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