HAMMOND – “Opportunity” was the key word at Bishop Noll Institute on Jan. 24 as speakers at a National School Choice Week Rally urged students to take advantage of the quality education they have been afforded to live a successful life.
“Education is powerful, life-changing and prepares you for your future,” said keynote speaker Eric Boone, pastor at Tree of Life Church in Gary and Hammond and the father of three Noll students. “I have three words for you to remember: ‘Make It Count.’”
Boone, who remembered being told by a teacher at West Side High School in Gary that he would never even graduate, told his audience of BNI juniors and seniors that he is not only a member of the class of 2000 at West Side, but went on to earn a bachelor’s degree, a master’s and a doctorate, fulfilling his goals.
“I refused to settle,” he added. “My difference makes the difference. It’s a sin to be good when God calls you to be great. It doesn’t matter who counts you out when God counts you in.”
Boone urged the students, many of whom have the opportunity to attend a private school with college preparatory courses and dozens of extracurriculars thanks to the Indiana Choice Scholarship program, to “Be confident in the way God made you – God doesn’t make junk!”
No matter what path you choose in life, he added, “You need a brain – to train, you need a brain.”
Boone’s message was echoed by Eric Roldan, assistant director of Marketing and Enrollment at Big Shoulders Foundation, who told the students he grew up in East Chicago, attended St. John Bosco School in Hammond and became the first BNI graduate in his family, as will many students in the audience, as indicated by a show of hands.
“Someone made the choice to send you here, and it is an opportunity for you to better your future,” said Roldan, noting that because of the “connection and friends I made at Noll, I’ve been able to become a teacher and a college basketball coach, and return to Bishop Noll to be the athletic director” before moving into his current position.
“Take advantage of the choices you have to the fullest and you’ll feel ready to go on when you graduate,” Roldan said. “Remember where you came from, who helped you, and reflect on the choices you had. Be that voice (for others) and be that advocate for choices to the next generation.”
Boone agreed, reminding the students, “You’ve got the opportunity of a lifetime … and it only comes once. You need to make sure you are ready to answer it, or it will go to someone else.”
He recalled a classmate who got better grades than Boone in high school, but soon made some wrong choices. “He went to the streets, and he was dead by 19,” Boone said. “The choices you make have consequences.”
Boone described “a true friend” as someone who “will make sure you have the right information in your brain, make sure you are ready for (school) exams, make sure you study and make sure you are ready for the ACT and SAT tests.
“Everyone in this room can make your mind up, make every educational dream a reality and give God praise for the opportunity of a lifetime,” he added.
Lorenza Jara Pastrick, principal, said she was proud to showcase BNI “as a school of choice.” Close to 99% of families in Northwest Indiana qualify for Indiana Choice Scholarships, she added.
Pastrick said her favorite quote from Boone was, “You are born looking like your parents, but you die reflecting the choices you make.”
The students, wearing bright yellow scarves given to them by the Institute for Quality Education, an Indianapolis nonprofit that hosted the rally, shouted “Make It Count” when prompted by Boone and also found his message inspiring.
“Education can give you an edge when you go out into the world to get a job,” is the idea that stuck with Augie Matushek, a BNI junior from Whiting who plans to attend college. “Bishop Noll gives me a good foundation and a good work ethic.”
Quinn Fehr, also a junior, from Highland, said she appreciates the one-on-one time with her teachers at Noll. “If you don’t understand something in class, you can go to the teacher and ask questions,” she said.
“I learned at the rally to value your education and take it to the next level, to always use the opportunities you are given,” said Sammie Ortiz, a Noll junior from Merrillville, while junior Janice Flores, from East Chicago, said her takeaway was, “Even when you doubt yourself or someone else doubts you, use it as motivation to pursue your goals.”
Mackenzie Hamer, a junior from Chicago and Hammond, said her family has encouraged her to study hard as she nears graduation. “I know my junior year is the most important, and I plan to go to college,” she said. “I will remember the things pastor Boone said a true friend would do, to make sure you do your best for your future, and make sure you do your homework.”
Caption: Bishop Noll Institute students select from pasteries during a National School Choice Week Rally at the Hammond school on Jan. 24. BNI's upperclassmen spent part of their day at a motivational presentation about education opportunities delivered by an area pastor and were then treated to sweets from Munster Donut. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)