2009 Christi Thomas Seneca East Scholarships

PIC: The 2009 Seneca East scholarship winners who were awarded $2,500 this morning in the Seneca East gymnasium.

The beautiful Miss Katie won this year's $1,000 award. Four out of the five selection committee members gave their highest points to Katie. As one of the judges, I can tell you I would have been very happy to have any of these seven individuals represent Christi's memory. They are all incredibly awesome kids!

One student wrote: "Christi's example of living life to the fullest is inspiring and I plan to follow this philosophy in my own life and to pass it along to those who I may encounter in my future."

Katie wrote: Because I have been a witness to Christi Thomas's courageous battle with cancer, I now realize how priceless life is. Even while enduring horrible cancer treatments, this beautiful little girl was able to find the good in everyone and fun in everything. Her love of reading, learning and experiencing new things was a blessing by giving her relief from her pain and disease. Christi has been and will remain an inspiration for many Seneca East students as we will remember both the good and bad aspects of Christi's cherished life. This dreadful life experience is a lesson that no one hopes to teach and that many doesn't realize they are learning from until they look back in retrospect and realize how it has played a role in their life. I now know that Christ's life, though extremely too short, was a remarkable one filled with unforgettable life experiences, learning, unending love, and happiness; what every parent wishes for their child. I am very lucky to have learned at an early age the important life lessons of living one's life to the fullest, making the best of every situation, and to never stop learning; even more so because these lessons came to me from a precious child named Christi.


One applicant wrote: Helping others has significantly changed my life and by continuing my education, I will be able to help disadvantaged youth which will give me the opportunity to help change their lives and in so doing, carry on Christi's spirit of giving.

Another great kid wrote: I have witnessed what simple acts can do to change a person's day for the better and I believe that the world needs more of these acts. The acts are small ones, such as smiling to a strange or dropping a note to a friend, but they mean much more to those people. This is the kind of person I believe Christi was and wants the rest of us to be. The people that go through life serving others live some of the most rewarding lives in history. The word needs more people who will help others for nothing in return. Christi was an example for many people to follow. I hope that I am one too.

I had to get back to class as soon as we announced these winners so I left my camera with a wonderful colleague of mine who was staying for the whole program; thankfully we now have these pictures! THANKS!