Students from three Catholic high schools in Niagara have received 2021 St. Kevin Social Justice (Soup’s On!) scholarships.

The students are:

• Luca DiPietro, Blessed Trinity Catholic Secondary School, Grimsby;
• David Pinelli, Lakeshore Catholic High School, Port Colborne;
• Sophia Belcastro, Notre Dame College School, Welland.

Something new this year was a request from the St. Kevin Social Justice Scholarship Committee (Soup’s On!) asking the students to comment on how their personal and faith lives were affected the pandemic.

The students received the $1,000 post-secondary scholarship at their respective grad celebrations, June 26, June 28 or June 29.

        Luca DiPietro of Blessed Trinity will attend University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business with a goal of becoming a lawyer focusing on human rights.

During the pandemic, Luca, a student trustee for the Niagara Catholic District School Board, co-founded The Teenage Tutors, a free tutoring company to assist students challenged by learning during COVID-19.

He started the school board’s COVID-19 mask sticker fundraiser as well as he set up the first Niagara Catholic mental health summit. It would combat a mental-health stigma and offer mental well-being tips.

At the family level, Luca was primary care giver for his grandmother: buying groceries, ordering prescriptions and providing companionship.

Some of his other activities include:

• Promoting legislation to ban single-use plastics in district schools;
• Creating The Thundercast, Blessed Trinity’s first podcast;
• Organizing a Valentine’s Day card project for a retirement home;.
• Led youth ministry at his parish
• Helped to maintain landscaping at parish church during the pandemic. 

David Pinelli of Lakeshore Catholic will enter business administration and financial math at Wilfrid Laurier University.

David was very active in church, Out of the Cold meals, hockey, volleyball, baseball and school activities as well as holiday gatherings with relatives.

As an only child, he said the pandemic “has hit me very hard… I had felt a disconnection between my family and friends.”  He could no longer “hang out with friends.” He also remained cautious because of a health condition of a family member.

Through prayer and searching, David said he found new activities to enjoy alone, such as working out, hobbies and video games. “During the Easter season I decided to watch many Catholic-faith filled TV shows and movies.”

Using Facetime, David helped a friend through a COVID-19 crisis. It was “a huge eye-opener …taught me not to take my life for granted…I know my prayers definitely helped my friend become healthy.”

Some of David’s other activities include:

• His parish priest said David “Lives his faith”;
• Strong academic standing;
• Hockey, volleyball, basketball;
• Student Youth Ambassador for Lakeshore;
• Annual Lakeshore Pilgrimage walker.

Sophia Belcastro of Notre Dame will study business management at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania on a women’s soccer scholarship.

Sophia found plans for her Grade 11 and 12 years, like so many of her fellow students “were dashed by COVID-19”.

Closer to home, her pandemic experience included supporting her sister with meals and Facetime, during 14-day quarantines when her sister returned home  from an American university. It became more serious when her sister, now with COVID, had to isolate in a Niagara Falls N.Y. hotel.  Through daily Facetime calls, Sophia encouraged her sister as she gradually improved.

During Ontario’s stay-at-home period, Sophia “honed her cooking and baking skills” and drop off homemade bake goods and meals on the porches of elderly or infirmed neighbors and family members.

In 2020 with five other girls, Sophia helped the Sisters of Sacred Heart set up Sisters Summer Camp for the children of first responders and of others in need of summer daycare. Sophia is a former daycare student of the Sisters and a member of their youth group.

In planning and carrying out the six weeks of camps for more than 30 children during the pandemic, Sophia learned about attention to personal safety, testing and ever-changing COVID regulations. For example, hula-hoops were used to set social distancing.

The camps for children ages 3 to 12 produced many memories for children, parents, staff and sisters…. and not one COVID-related case.

Some Sophia’s other activities are:

• Youth ministry participant;
• Community Christian Outreach;
• Peer tutor;
• Junior basketball and varsity soccer team member;
• Four year honour roll student.

St. Kevin Social Justice Scholarship Committee (Soup’s On!) raises funds through its annual Soup’s On! luncheon at St. Kevin parish hall on the last Friday in January.

Students from local high school and Niagara College culinary programs, as well as Stephanie The Lunch Lady, prepare and serve a variety of soups. Tickets for the three-sitting luncheon have remained $10 each over the years.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic what would have been the 19^th  annual Soup’s On was not held. Funds for the three 2021 scholarships were drawn from the St. Kevin Social Justice Scholarship Committee (Soup’s On!) reserve fund.

Since 2004, the committee has given a total of $55,900 for 59 student scholarships and five special allocation grants.

Members of the committee are: Bernadette Barkovich, Jessica Soul, Wayne Campbell, and Joe Barkovich, chair.