Timothy Gailius named the 2010-2011 Begley Scholar

June 11, 2010--Among the many prestigious merit-based programs at BC High, the Begley Scholarship is one of the more competitive and highly sought-after by students. Boston College High School is pleased to announce that Timothy Gailius '11 has been selected as the 2010-2011 Begley Scholar.

The Begley Scholarship program was established by an anonymous donor in honor of Rev. John J. Begley, SJ, a former BC High teacher who fostered among his students a sense of intellectual and cultural curiosity, and cultivated a broad view of the world and humanity. The program recognizes BC High students who exemplify the values that defined Fr. Begley's life and career.

The Begley Scholarship provides students with an opportunity for learning and growth beyond the classroom. Recipients are chosen based on the strength of their proposals as well as their leadership and achievement in and out of the classroom. With the participation of a faculty sponsor, Begley Scholars develop a program of study that they complete during the summer before senior year. There are no limits or restrictions to the type or scope of the proposed projects.

Gailius will focus his project on using first-world technology to help a third-world country. Working with three organizations, Partners in Health, the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, and the University of Notre Dame Haiti Program, Gailius will travel to Haiti to study how harvesting solar energy through solar panels can help rebuild this earthquake-torn nation. "Despite the news reports, striking images, and increasing death toll, I still cannot imagine the pain and suffering that the Haitian people must be feeling right now in their homeland," says Gailius. "However, this is the perfect time to instigate a new way of living in Haiti; one that does not rely on unnatural resources, foreign aid, or on the few wealthy elite. It is time to make Haiti a solar-powered country."

Gailius will travel to Haiti this summer to witness how solar energy has helped at clinics and hospitals during the aftermath of the earthquakes. He will also investigate the possibility of installing solar panels on the roof of a private home in Haiti, so that a family there may be able to harness the power of the sun. "In Haiti, everything in the country stops at night," he says. "Kids cannot read past sunset and parents cannot work into the night to earn extra money. However, with the harvested solar energy, lights can be powered throughout the night, promoting education, jobs, and security for all people." With his visit facilited by the University of Notre Dame Haiti Program, he will interview the researchers and physicians at the Hopital Sainte-Croix and the clinics associated with it in Leogane, Haiti. He will study not only how this program is working to eradicate LF (lymphatic filariasis) in Haiti, but also try to facilitate the delivery of solar power to the hospital and its clinics.

During his trip, Gailius will keep record of his findings by creating a film about his experiences in Haiti that he can bring back to BC High. "I hope to document through video, pictures, and data just how solar energy is changing life in Haiti and how we as a BC High community can change life for the Haitian people," he says. "I can record and help with an actual installation, have interviews with Haitians about solar energy, and analyze how solar energy can help Haiti progress economically and environmentally farther than it ever has before. This project, fueled by my passion for social justice, will hopefully change the outlook of the BC High community on how monetary support can truly change lives."

Gailius hopes not only to change lives in Haiti, but he also expects that his once-in-a-lifetime experience, made possible by the Begley Scholarship, will change his own life too. "The Begley Scholarship is an opportunity for me to grow as a person of diligence, integrity, and faith," he says. "What I have a chance to do now is to branch out and to make a difference. Through my faith and this project, I hope that I can find my vocation working as the hands and feet of Christ in the most desperate country in the world."

Gailius will present the results of his Begley Project to the BC High community in the fall.

*Press release from BCHigh.edu: http://www.bchigh.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=18756