There are many students who likely deserve the Ed and Flora Pellegri Scholarship. I believe that I qualify because of how I used determination and self-advocacy to create opportunities for myself. During the pandemic, I volunteered with the Natick Virtual Tutoring Program, working with middle school students. The following year, I heard the tutoring program was being discontinued and worried that students would fall further behind without the extra support. Or order to save the program, I reached out to the program head to let me continue and lead the program. In order to convince him of my vision for the program, I proposed a transition to in-person tutoring and offered to assume all the responsibilities of day-to-day operations. After many persistent emails, I was granted permission. I assumed many responsibilities for running the program including recruitment, scheduling, communication with parents and tutors, and conducting training meetings for tutors. Currently, we have over 48 families working with 25 tutors. We support students who need a resource to re-explain class lessons, a mentor to support their emotional needs, or just a cheerleader to motivate them. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and parents expressed gratitude for the help and academic resources that they could not get otherwise. I am grateful to the team for their hard work and dedication and I am proud of the positive impact we have had on the community. In addition to running the tutoring program, I work as a martial arts instructor at the Metrowest Academy of Jiu-Jitsu. I started this job when I was fourteen years old, after having trained there as a student since I was seven years old. Although I had known I wanted the job for a while, I was not able to earn the position right when I turned 14 since I had no prior teaching experience. Therefore, I began volunteering as a helper coach in classes and shadowing the instructors. I learned from their example and even got some hands-on experience working with individual students. Even though I was not yet an official part of their leadership program, I earned the job after a few months of volunteering and began working as an instructor at the academy. The job includes many responsibilities beyond teaching, and while not all are fun, they are all necessary. I do not enjoy scrubbing toilets, cleaning mats, or taking out garbage, but I do love teaching and I would not change it for the world. I get to plan lessons, lead classes, mentor other coaches, and be a role model for the students. One of my favorite classes to teach is the little ninjas class for kids ages 4 to 6. Lessons on discipline, focus, and memory are interwoven into a series of games. This can be an obstacle course to practice balance or "messy backyard", a game where the students work together to put all the equipment back where it belongs. For older students, I find new and engaging ways to teach and practice Jiu-Jitsu techniques. If students struggle, I give them words of encouragement and offer to work with them one-on-one after class. Through their training, I reinforce the importance of hard work and perseverance. Through my own determination and advocacy for myself, I was able to create opportunities that otherwise would not be available to me. These have helped me discover my passion for teaching and motivated me to pursue a career in education.

Whether it be as a doctor, teacher, or some other profession I have not thought of, I know that my dream version of my future self works to help people because that makes me feel good.

My name is Ben Bourgery and I am a senior at Natick High School. I believe that I qualify because I work hard to uphold the ideals of leadership, education, and hard work through service to my community. During the pandemic, I volunteered with the Natick Virtual Tutoring Program, working with middle school students. The following year, I heard the tutoring program was being discontinued and worried that students would fall further behind without the extra support. I convinced the program head to let me lead the program and transition it to in-person tutoring. I assumed many of the day-to-day responsibilities including recruitment, scheduling, communication with parents and tutors, and conducting tutor meetings. Currently, we have over 48 families working with 25 tutors. We support students who need a resource to re-explain class lessons, a mentor to support their emotional needs, or just a cheerleader to motivate them. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and parents expressed gratitude for the help and academic resources that they could not get otherwise. I am grateful to the team for their hard work and dedication and I am proud of the positive impact we have had on the community. In addition to running the tutoring program, I work at the Metrowest Academy of Jiu-Jitsu. The job includes many responsibilities, not all are fun, but they are all necessary. While I do not enjoy scrubbing toilets, cleaning mats, or taking out the garbage, I do love teaching. I conduct classes for younger students: planning lessons, leading classes, mentoring other coaches, and being a role model for the students. With our little ninjas, lessons on discipline, focus, and memory are interwoven into a series of games. This can be an obstacle course to practice balance or "messy backyard", a game where the students work together to put all the equipment back where it belongs. For older students, I find new and engaging ways to teach and practice Jiu-Jitsu techniques. If students struggle, I give them words of encouragement and offer to work with them one-on-one after class. Through their training, I reinforce the importance of hard work and perseverance. My own teaching has been influenced by the many great teachers I have had in Natick. The best teachers display a passion for their subject and share this enthusiasm with their students. I have deep admiration and respect for their dedication and they have inspired me in all the work I have done. Knowing the positive impact I can have on the community, combined with my love of teaching, I plan to pursue a career in education. I would like to teach history or science to middle school students. They are young, energetic, and still have an innocence about them. They are not yet jaded and I want to ensure they stay engaged in their education. I hope to inspire others and impart my ideals of leadership, hard work, and service onto the next generation.

My name is Ben Bourgery and I am a senior at Natick High School. I believe that I qualify because I work hard to uphold the ideals of leadership, education, and hard work through service to my community. During the pandemic, I volunteered with the Natick Virtual Tutoring Program, working with middle school students. The following year, I heard the tutoring program was being discontinued and worried that students would fall further behind without the extra support. I convinced the program head to let me lead the program and transition it to in-person tutoring. I assumed many of the day-to-day responsibilities including recruitment, scheduling, communication with parents and tutors, and conducting tutor meetings. Currently, we have over 48 families working with 25 tutors. We support students who need a resource to re-explain class lessons, a mentor to support their emotional needs, or just a cheerleader to motivate them. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and parents expressed gratitude for the help and academic resources that they could not get otherwise. I am grateful to the team for their hard work and dedication and I am proud of the positive impact we have had on the community. In addition to running the tutoring program, I work at the Metrowest Academy of Jiu-Jitsu. The job includes many responsibilities, not all are fun, but they are all necessary. While I do not enjoy scrubbing toilets, cleaning mats, or taking out the garbage, I do love teaching. I conduct classes for younger students: planning lessons, leading classes, mentoring other coaches, and being a role model for the students. With our little ninjas, lessons on discipline, focus, and memory are interwoven into a series of games. This can be an obstacle course to practice balance or "messy backyard", a game where the students work together to put all the equipment back where it belongs. For older students, I find new and engaging ways to teach and practice Jiu-Jitsu techniques. If students struggle, I give them words of encouragement and offer to work with them one-on-one after class. Through their training, I reinforce the importance of hard work and perseverance. My own teaching has been influenced by the many great teachers I have had in Natick. The best teachers display a passion for their subject and share this enthusiasm with their students. I have deep admiration and respect for their dedication and they have inspired me in all the work I have done. I know that I have already had a positive impact on people's lives in my community through, and I hope to become a teacher so I can pass on my ideals of leadership, hard work, and service to the next generation.

My name is Ben Bourgery and I am a senior at Natick High School. I am applying for this scholarship with the hopes of attending my dream school Bowdoin College, which is currently outside my price range. One of my proudest accomplishments in my high school career was founding the Natick Middle School Tutoring Program. Through my work as a martial arts instructor at the Metrowest Academy of Jiu Jitsu, I knew from conversations with parents that many kids were struggling academically after the pandemic. I decided I wanted to use my teaching experience and start a tutoring program, so I reached out to the middle school vice principal to sponsor my program. He approved my idea and gave me free rein to run the program. First, I assembled a team of tutors composed of high school juniors and seniors. Next, I advertised the program in the Natick parents newsletter, along with contacting teachers and counselors who would recommend struggling students. Currently, we have over 50 families working with 30 tutors. We support the students who need a resource to re-explain academic concepts, a mentor to support their emotional needs, or just a cheerleader to motivate them. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and parents have expressed gratitude for the help and academic resources that they could not get otherwise. It has been extremely rewarding to know that I helped so many students and their families. Leading the program has been an endeavor, but I also gained invaluable experience working with the tutors and parents that I will need as a leader in college and in life. I learned to collect and organize large quantities of information, coordinate and lead a large team, communicate clearly and concisely, and most importantly take initiative to realize my ideas.