Juan Diego student completes over 1,000 hours of service

DRAPER — Juan Diego Catholic High School’s motto is Spiritus Donorum, or Spirit of Giving. Every year a senior student who "has demonstrated exemplary community service by living out the Gospel values of faith, hope, and love" is recognized with the Saint Francis Award.

This year’s St. Francis Award recipient is Brianna Gray. She spent two weeks of the last two summers working to rebuild an orphanage in Mexico through her youth group at the United Methodist Church.

Candidates to receive the award are nominated by teachers, students, and staff, said Molly Dumas, director of advancement and public affairs.

Then, teachers, including Doctor Galey Colosimo, principal of Juan Diego, review the applications. This year, there were eight strong finalists, but Gray earned the award with over 1,000 hours of service during her schooling at Juan Diego. The school’s four-year requirement is a total of 55 hours.

"I was shocked when I learned about it, but I was also grateful. I thought other people would have won it instead," said Gray.

Her service in Mexico started when her grandmother and cousin invited her to join them.

"I did not know what to expect. I was nervous about staying there, but once I got there, everything just fell into place," she said.

During the first summer she spent at the orphanage, she helped start to build a sidewalk and rebuild the library.

"We redid the shelves because they had a termite problem," said Gray.

During the second summer she spent there, she finished the sidewalk and helped cover some sewage openings so the children would not fall in them.

She performed other manual labor as well, such as pouring cement, building forms for footing and walls, painting classrooms, doing tile work, and digging trenches for sewer lines.

Gray did a lot of hard work and lived without comforts that she took for granted. She often had to sleep on the floor because there were not enough beds.

"The bathrooms are not what you would expect. The water was cold," she said. But at least she had good homemade food and good company.

"Even after the first night, the kids there were very welcoming."

She said her toughest experience was leaving lest she might not see the children again.

"Some of them get adopted or their families start a new job," she said.

Gray’s service work is not limited to her trips to Mexico, she has also prepared food to feed the homeless underneath the 500 South bridge on Sundays from six in the morning until noon.

"I was shocked at how many people were out during the winter, when it is very cold. It opened my eyes. There is a lot going on that you don’t see," she said.

Gray’s family is dedicated to serving others. She said her grandmother volunteers in Mexico and has done mission trips.

Service has made Gray attain patience and communication skills that will help her in the future.

"I will be going to the university to study pre-med. I am planning to eventually become a physician’s assistant in pediatrics," she said.

Gray said she encourages others to serve their communities, and if possible, to travel to a third world country.

"Service shows that people care enough to use their own free time to help others. To me, service has helped me realize what I value and believe. After going to Mexico, I do not take things from granted anymore. I see myself growing from it personally and it has made me work harder for a lot of things in life," said Gray.

Dumas said that the most extraordinary thing about Gray’s work is that very few people knew about it.

"This says she is doing it for the right reason. It is not about recognition, but about the mission itself.

This will be the first year a St. Francis Award recipient receives a contribution toward the charity of his or her choice from the Joe Dispenza Legacy Endowment, said Dumas.

Joe Dispenza was a volunteer at the soup kitchen downtown and the endowment with his name was put together by the Dispenza family to aid needy students with tuition and recognize students who help others.

Gray has chosen the No More Homeless Pets organization to receive the contribution on her behalf. She will recieve the award during the Senior Farewell Mass.