Fred Rabasca Memorial Scholarship

I have a younger brother who has special needs, and that has given me a heart for special needs. I have also seen how some special needs kids are put to the side when it comes to education. They are seen as less important, and their learning patterns can be different than others so it takes longer to teach them. Having witnessed some of these events, my goal is to change the way special needs kids are treated. Everyone deserves an education, and I want to be equipped to help all special needs kids pursue a career in life by helping to educate them. I am involved with my church’s special needs program. I serve on Sundays at my church twice a month, and I help keep the kids safe, let them have fun while learning about God, and giving their parents the time to learn about God while knowing that their kids are safe and in good hands. I am pursuing a Christian Studies major because I love serving with my church kids. I view the fact that my brother has special needs as a blessing. He has not only been a joy to my life, but has helped me see a different side to people that I probably would have never known. My main reason for serving in my church’s special needs program is because I’ve seen how the program has blessed our family, and because I have experience with having a brother who has autism, I am able to understand and care for other kids with the same or similar needs. I want to use my gifts and experiences to help others in my life, and I want to use my service at church to help other families feel seen and loved. Serving with these kids has been rewarding for me, and I always end up feeling joy because of the kids. Being a buddy to these kids gives me the chance to be able to use my talents and lessons that I have learned to help other families and their children. I am thankful for my brother, and my life has been changed in a good way because of him. I am also thankful for the chance to be a part of the kids’ lives that I get to serve with. I think that because I am working with them, I get a different perspective on life that not many other people have, and I count that as a blessing. My experience has given me a heart for special needs, and I want to use my passion and enjoyment of serving people with special needs in my career and use my career to help change lives for the better. I am working towards my education to further help those who have special needs by serving in my church and also by going out in my community. I am involved with a special needs baseball team to help further my education. Spending time with them playing baseball helps me to work alongside many different kids with special needs to help them learn how to play and so much more.