What she had to say ...

Excerpts from Maria Salerno’s winning essay on the importance of education. The essay in its entirety can be read at www.kenoshanews.com

“For most, the word education means, ‘go to school.’ Technically, they are correct. However, education is everywhere.”

“Education is a path to success. . . We cannot change what has happened in the past, but we can improve our future with education.”

“In the future, my brother, who is disabled with Cerebral Palsy, could be walking instead of sitting in a wheelchair. Someone could invent a device that would help him talk and control his body.”

BRIGHTON – When the Green Bay Packers take the field Sunday to warm up for their last home game of the season, a Brighton School seventh grader and her brother will be on the sidelines watching.

Maria Salerno, 12, wrote an essay about the importance of education so inspiring that the Packer organization rewarded her with four tickets to the game, four concession vouchers and access to the field during pre-game warmup. Her photo and essay will be posted on the Green Bay Packers Web site and her accomplishment will be recognized on the Tundra-vision screen during the game.

More than 700 students entered the Badger Mutual Insurance Family of the Game essay contest and a winning essay was selected prior to each home game this year. Salerno learned she made the cut last week.

“I was in complete shock the rest of the day,” Maria recalls. “I couldn’t believe it was actually happening to me.”

Maria took it upon herself to enter the contest after she saw a poster promoting it in her homeroom class.

“It kind of caught my eye,” she said. “I thought, ‘Wow, free Packer tickets, that would be great.’ My whole family loves the Packers.”

This is especially true of Maria’s brother Nick, 13, who was part of the inspiration behind her essay. She said his wardrobe consists mainly of Packer wear.

“My brother has Cerebral Palsy,” Maria said. “I always hope one day he will walk and talk like us. That is one reason I wrote the essay. When I think about what education can do, I think of Nick.”

In her essay, Maria wrote, “Someone could invent a device that would help him talk and control his body. Although distant, but within his lifetime, I believe it will happen.”

She also wrote about how education is important no matter what field you plan to enter. She gave examples of the type of skills needed in a range of occupations, from cashiers to police officers and newspaper editors. She also stressed the importance of turning every moment into a learning experience.

“Education is all around us, and a majority of the time, humans do not realize it,” she wrote.

In the essay, Maria defines education as “a path to success” and states it is “important to society and civilization.” She wrote about what advances can be made to change “our world into a never before imagined place.”

“We cannot change what has happened in the past, but we can improve our future with education,” she wrote.

Education is something personally important to Maria, as well. She said she wants to earn a masters and a doctorate degree, become a scientist in the field of veterinary medicine and find a cure “for animal cancer and other diseases.”

As an added bonus, the family will get to enter onto the field through the same tunnel as the Packer players as it is the only wheelchair accessible way to get on the field.

“He is so excited,” Maria said with regard to Nick. “He’s been to Lambeau a couple of times, but every time is a great experience for him.”