Each year, the Men's Club offers the $500 Father Barry Award to the member of the graduating class submitting the best essay on a topic selected 
by Club members. This year, 2012, the topic was:
Which gifts of the Holy Spirit will be most helpful to you as you move on to high school?
Our winner from the St. Coleman class of 2012 was Kaitlyn Todd. Her essay follows:
Imagine that you are back in high school. You've gotten all dressed up to go to the party of the year. You arrive, towing along a group of your friends into the huge house. You can hear the pound of the bass as you enter the main room. The room is crowded by teenagers, having fun and dancing to the music. Suddenly, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You spin around fast, to see one of your best friends holding out a can of beer. "Want a drink?" he asks you. Now you have a choice. You can give in to the peer pressure and take it, but is that what God would want you to do? No way! Now that you've decided, you have to tell him: ""Hmm, I think I'll pass, but thank you!" "Okay, whatever. See you later tonight," he responds as he walks away.
I think that the topic selected for the essay this year was very interesting. I spent quite some time thinking of what I thought that I might need as I headed to high school. After thinking through a basic scenario like the one I just presented and others like it, I came to a conclusion. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit that will help me the most in high school are definitely courage and right judgment. From all that I have learned so far, it seems to me that the key to getting through high school is making the right choices. You cannot let yourself be sucked into something that will not help you in the long run. None of the things that will make you popular in high school will help you in life. This is why right judgment is such an important gift for God to give us. We need to be able to know what the right choices are so we can make them.
But it is not that simple. Where do you find the strength to make them? That is where the courage comes into play. Even when people can use their right judgment to know what the right decision is, most of them do not end up making that choice. Why? Because they are afraid: afraid of what others will think of them! You need that courage to have the power to stand up for the right choice! The courage that we received in Confirmation will help us to remember that as long as we are making good choices, we will be better off in the future. For these reasons, I believe that courage and right judgment are the two gifts that will help us most in high school.
As for giving witness to Jesus, I think that this is important in whatever part of life you are in. While you are in high school, showing your love for God is very important. You have to show it by making the choices that He would want you to make. Again, this is where all of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit help you. Taking the path with Jesus will pay off so much more in the long run than any other route you can travel. Since Jesus showed so much love for us in dying on the cross and saving us from sin, we should at least try to show an equal love for him in every part of our lives. In conclusion, being like Jesus is such a vital trait to have, and we should all try to follow his example using our right judgment and courage.
Kaitlyn Todd
St. Coleman Class of 2012
In 2011, the topic was:
Describe the value and importance of praying and attending Mass with your family on a weekly basis.
Our winner from the St. Coleman class of 2011 was Katherine Herbert. Her essay follows:
I grew up knowing that Catholic was my religion. My parents are dedicated Catholics and so am I. My parents taught me a lot about my religion and what being Catholic stands for. They taught me that praying and going to Mass on a weekly basis can help you come closer to God. Mass is a place where people who believe in Jesus can come together and worship the Lord. At Mass people unite as one and sing praises to the Lord and for that moment we are one mind and one body. Mass is a way of cleansing yourself and your soul after a long week of dealing with the world. There are so many things going on around us that it is easy to lose yourself in the cares of this world and forget that God should be the center of your attention.
When you pray to God you should tell Him what comes from your heart, whatever is on your mind at that very moment. You should not just pray for yourself, but for others too. God wants to answer your prayers and help you through tough times, but you have to be open to God and look for His answers around you. Jesus not only speaks through words, He also speaks through actions and symbols. Try to pray as often as possible because God wants to be a part of your life and hear from you.
It is important to go to Mass as a family, because the more time you spend together, the more you will appreciate every minute with each other. You should always look at life as if every minute is a lifetime of memories. Growing up with God and the Catholic Church in my life has given me a strong basis to deal with the problems that come my way. Since I know my family and God are always there for me, I can deal with anything that comes my way.
Mass encourages you to try to reach out to those in need in your community. The Church gives you many opportunities to help, such as donating food to the less fortunate, clothing to those in need, and money for those with financial difficulties. These lessons that you learn at Mass may help you to become a better person to everyone you meet.
Going to Mass can also be a great place to establish an extended family within the church community. When you face tough times you will always be able to rely on your church family for support and encouragement. The love of this extended family is always there to comfort and console in times of sorrow, and to celebrate and rejoice in times of joy. Being part of the church community and going to Mass each weekend has helped me to become a better person and Catholic in the eyes of the Lord. I know when I face the difficulties of life as we all surely will, I'll be thankful for the love, support, and prayers of my extended Catholic family.
Katherine Herbert
St Coleman Class of 2011
In 2010, the topic was:
America’s Founding Fathers included God as a cherished cornerstone of the nation's values and beliefs, yet discussion continues about removing “In God We Trust” from U.S. currency, and reference to God from our Pledge of Allegiance. As a young American citizen, how do you feel about that and why?
Our winner from the St. Coleman class of 2010 was Kerrianna Chatham. Her essay follows:
When our Founding Fathers created this nation, God was the basis of almost all of the decisions people made. Skipping Church on Sundays wasn’t a thought. Whether you were Jewish, Catholic, or Muslim, God was your priority. Today, many people do not go to Mass or make good choices. Many things we do are based on our selfish wants and desires. We rarely think of what God wants of us. He has been drawn out of society.
God gave Moses specific rules to follow, and we have gone out of our way to break them. It is so easy to steal, cheat, and lie. Years ago, it was strongly stressed not to do that. Back then, it was so easy to say no to doing the things that we make easy to say yes to. Many people are taking our privileges of the sacraments for granted. There are many divorces that can be prevented. I feel that they can be prevented just by the simple task of bring God closer to you in your everyday life. Many families are estranging; if they took the time every Sunday to celebrate Mass together, maybe things would be different. The parents would know more about what their children were doing and could possibly help them if they are confused or on the wrong track.
When our America’s Founding Fathers created our pledge, they believed that the Lord is the Almighty Father and the base of our nation. They placed, “Under God” in our Pledge of Allegiance because they believed that. Everything they have set in place has so far worked for many years. In the 223 years, we have only had to make thirteen changes to the Constitution based on changes in society. I believe that we should not change “in God we trust” on our currency or change our pledge because God has not changed. God is still the base of our nation and He is still the Almighty Father.
Having God presented through money and our pledge reminds you that God is here. He has been removed from our everyday decisions and actions. He has been forgotten on His holy day, and His name has been used to say many vile things. Times have changed greatly from when our country was born, but it would not help if you take away the small reminders that we do have. People handle money everyday. Schools say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday. It has become rote to say the pledge in the morning at the beginning of school. When you pay for something, you rarely read the words, “In God we trust,” but when you do read those words and think about what you are truly saying in the pledge, it means something. You know that just like money, God is everywhere.
By taking God out of those two things, no matter how small they are, you’re taking away two of his limited connections in society. I believe that removing Him from these things would be a bad choice and would only suggest to us that God isn’t important enough to be in our lives everyday. That is the message that most people are getting from this. That is the wrong message and would only turn us farther away from Him.
Kerrianna Chatham
St Coleman Class of 2010
Imagine that you are back in high school. You've gotten all dressed up to go to the party of the year. You arrive, towing along a group of your friends into the huge house. You can hear the pound of the bass as you enter the main room. The room is crowded by teenagers, having fun and dancing to the music. Suddenly, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You spin around fast, to see one of your best friends holding out a can of beer. “Want a drink?" he asks you. Now you have a choice. You can give in to the peer pressure and take it, but is that what God would want you to do? No way! Now that you've decided, you have to tell him: “”Hmm, I think I'll pass, but thank you!" "Okay, whatever. See you later tonight," he responds as he walks away.
I think that the topic selected for the essay this year was very interesting. I spent quite some time thinking of what I thought that I might need as I headed to high school. After thinking through a basic scenario like the one I just presented and others like it, I came to a conclusion. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit that will help me the most in high school are definitely courage and right judgment. From all that I have learned so far, it seems to me that the key to getting through high school is making the right choices. You cannot let yourself be sucked into something that will not help you in the long run. None of the things that will make you popular in high school will help you in life. This is why right judgment is such an important gift for God to give us. We need to be able to know what the right choices are so we can make them.
But it is not that simple. Where do you find the strength to make them? That is where the courage comes into play. Even when people can use their right judgment to know what the right decision is, most of them do not end up making that choice. Why? Because they are afraid: afraid of what others will think of them! You need that courage to have the power to stand up for the right choice! The courage that we received in Confirmation will help us to remember that as long as we are making good choices, we will be better off in the future. For these reasons, I believe that courage and right judgment are the two gifts that will help us most in high school.
As for giving witness to Jesus, I think that this is important in whatever part of life you are in. While you are in high school, showing your love for God is very important. You have to show it by making the choices that He would want you to make. Again, this is where all of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit help you. Taking the path with Jesus will pay off so much more in the long run than any other route you can travel. Since Jesus showed so much love for us in dying on the cross and saving us from sin, we should at least try to show an equal love for him in every part of our lives. In conclusion, being like Jesus is such a vital trait to have, and we should all try to follow his example using our right judgment and courage.