St. Joseph CHS students win essay contest for skiers

Courtesy graphic

+ Enlarge

OGDEN — For the second year in a row, students at St. Joseph Catholic High School have won the Gifting Back Good Stewardship High School Award.

To be considered for the award, applicants were required to be enthusiastic skiers who follow the Utah Avalanche Center’s “Know Before You Go” protocols and be drug and alcohol free. Qualified students were asked to submit an essay of about 300 words. In addition to the essay, students were judged on their stewardship activities as part of high school, what community stewardship means to them and how skiing positively impacts their life.

The winning students from St. Joseph Catholic High School were Josh Ortiz and Julie Ricker. Honorable Mention, went to Richard Thompson and Abby Gough, also from SJCHS.

Community service is an important part of the curriculum at St. Joe’s. During the four years at the school, each student contributes more than 120 hours of service to the community. The school partners with several organizations, including Catholic Community Services, Youth Impact, Ogden/Weber Action Plan, Mission Health, Refugee Center and Habitat for Humanity, to provide a day of service, senior service project, and ongoing service, said Principal Clay Jones in a press release from the awards program.

Each year the Hope Squad holds Hope Week, which introduces students to mental health and suicide prevention/intervention resources available both on and off campus. The student members of the Hope Squad are nominated by their peers to be part of the suicide prevention group, which also includes faculty, administrators, the school counselor, parents and mental health professionals in the community who are trained in suicide prevention techniques.

The winners of the Gifting Back Good Stewardship award received ski equipment and accessories valued at more than $2,500.