'Reach For The Sky'
Thomas Edison, the inventor, once said that there are three essential ingredients to achieving anything - the first is hard work, the second is stick-to-itiveness, and the last is common sense. If one looks behind any successful person all these qualities can be seen. What makes these people want to do the hard work in the first place is some sort of fire within them and, when nurtured, this fire can be the energy behind many wonderful achievements. This fire is evidently present in eight students from the Abbey Vocational School, Donegal Town and the energy it disseminates was channeled into achieving recognition from the President of Ireland by means of the bronze medal in the "Gaisce" challenge.
The President's Award is called "Gaisce". This Irish word, when translated, means "feat". This is very apt, as the aim of the award is to challenge young people, between the age of fifteen and twenty-five, and then give them the recognition they deserve for achieving their goals and overcoming their feats. The slogan of the award " Feel like a challenge" encourages young people to try and push themselves to achieve, to develop as people, and to reach their full potential. It entices them to build up four aspects of their lives and, in doing so, become more rounded people who are more capable of rising to the challenges that life throws at them.
The four aspects to the "Gaisce" Award are - Community Involvement, Physical Recreation, Personal Skill and The Venture. The participants all decide what they are going to do, with advice from their PAL (President Award Leader) and these activities must be carried out for a certain number of weeks. For example, Donna Travers from Barnes was secretary of her local Foroige Youth Club for her Community Involvement, went walking as part of her Physical Recreation and pursued her interest in art for the Personal Skill section. Donna then went hiking for two days in Cashelard with the seven other participants, their PAL Ms. Mary Gillespie and staff members Mr. O' Neill and Mrs.Gallagher.
The Venture is the group part of the Award. All eight participants - Shane Brogan, Patricia Carr, Daire Diver, Joni Donagher, Sarah Gallagher, Leah Mc Cafferty, Donna Travers, and myself, Lorna Campbell - hiked to the Breesy Centre, Cashelard on Friday May 7th and spent a fun-filled night in the lovely centre. Spaghetti Bolognaise was made - Cashelard style! - And lots of dancing was done and games played until the early hours. Getting up the next morning was a little more difficult! Everyone rose to the challenge, however, and hiked through the beautiful landscape under a blazing sun for Saturday morning and early afternoon.
The hard work and perseverance of the group was rewarded on the 19th of May when the Award ceremony took place in the Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny. "Gaisce" participants from various schools in the Northwest attended and a most prestigious celebrity was there also to present the awards… Mickey Harte! The famous Lifford man spoke very eloquent words about his own dream and the fact that everyone needs to keep trying in order to achieve their goals. And because his story ended with success, it will definitely encourage everyone there to try their best in whatever they decide to do. As the great Mickey said: - Reach for the sky and you'll never end up with a fist-full of muck".
Author: Lorna Campbell, Bronze Participent 2003-04