Jefferson High Grad Helps Food Pantry With Award-Winning Essay

Being intelligent and athletic can pay off in more ways than one. David Swerzenski, a 2012 graduate of , helped the with $500 that he received after winning the Sussex County Scholar Athlete award for 2012.

As part of the requirement for competing in, and eventually winning, the award, Swerzenski had to write a 500-word essay on a teacher who was inspirational to him during his high school career. He chose to write about Spanish teacher Oscar Benavides, and the essay won Swerzenski $500 from First Hope Bank to be donated to the charity of his choice. Swerzenski chose the New Hope Food Pantry.

“I’ve been a member of the Milton United Methodist Church for as long as I can remember, and I’ve helped out at the food pantry,” Swerzenski said. “I know they are , and the food pantry helps a lot of families in Jefferson.”

Swerzenski is on his way to Rochester Institute of Technology to major in electrical engineering.