7 GUERINCATHOLIC.ORG Alumni Profile Do you remember the original “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” movie? I’m talking about the one made in 1971 starring Gene Wilder. I didn’t see the newest incarnation directed by Tim Burton, and I wouldn’t want to. The original was a classic. Everything about it just felt genuine, like when Charlie discovered he was the last one to get the golden ticket. He just looked so happy when he got that ticket. You could feel the joy as he sang: “Cause I’ve got a golden ticket, I’ve got a golden chance to make my way. And with a golden ticket it’s a golden day.” A quality education is a lot like a golden ticket. Whether you’re rich or poor, an education can take you from what you are to what you want to be. Granted, you have to couple that with hard work — nothing comes easy in life — but an education can show you the way. It just comes down to one thing: can you access that golden ticket? If you’re a child living with a poor family in a poor, crime-ridden part of town, the odds are against you — just like they were for Charlie. I’m very fortunate to have been educated. I graduated from Guerin Catholic in the spring of 2008. As a student I had the privilege of learning in an atmosphere that encouraged and demanded high-level critical thinking. We had outstanding teachers then, as we do now, who taught us everything we needed to know about theology, math, history, science and language. Seven years removed, I can’t tell you everything I learned in those classrooms. I can’t tell you how to do trigonometry (sorry, Mr. Lustig), and I can’t recall much Spanish (lo siento, Señor Wagoner). But what I can tell you is each classroom had a crucifix, and that crucifix taught me to love another is to love God — especially the most poor and troubled among us. So while the Guerin Catholic atmosphere fostered that intellectual stimulation, it also cultivated in its students something much greater: compassion and charity. I live in Chicago, and it seems like every day there are new numbers indicating how many students are failing or schools are closing. It’s very easy to become numb to it all after a while, accepting it as just some fixed, concrete occurrence. But those two things Guerin Catholic gave me — compassion and charity — allowed me to recognize the numbers I heard every day weren’t set in stone. Things could be done to give those students and schools what they needed. And what they needed was access — access to both receive and provide a quality education. That realization compelled me to begin volunteering for Chicago’s Big Shoulders Fund. The nonprofit fund provides scholarships to underprivileged, low-income children to attend Catholic primary and secondary schools around the city. Because the students come from low-income families, their ability to pay tuition is often difficult and sometimes seems impossible. When this happens, Big Shoulders steps in to provide the schools with the funds, operational support and volunteers it needs. It’s a gratifying feeling to know you’re helping give these kids a chance — a chance to completely change their lives. That’s the opportunity an excellent education can provide. Guerin Catholic was that golden ticket for me. Now I’m just trying to pass out as many tickets as I can to kids who desperately need them. ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ – Matthew 25:44-45 Reid Brewster Guerin Catholic Class of 2008 University of Notre Dame Class of 2012 Lives in Chicago and works at Geometry Global ReidBrewster Reid (Middle) hanging out at Notre Dame with James Reardon and Julian Murphy. John Legend (Middle) with Julian and Reid.
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