by Tanis Martinez, Senior – La Salle Academy, New York NY

My name is Tanis Martinez and I am a senior at La Salle Academy in New York City. Every morning, I travel one hour from Queens to Manhattan to go to school. One reason I chose to attend La Salle is because it is a small community, which is important when you’re looking for a school where teachers will provide personalized attention. Since the teachers here know their students so well, they have a greater understanding of how each one can improve as a student and as a person.

The financial issues of me being able to attend high school were a huge weight on my mother’s shoulders. I am grateful to have received financial assistance through the St. John Baptist de La Salle Fund to help relieve my mother’s burden.

I believe that with the right education, you can accomplish anything, and so far, that has proven to be true at La Salle. From freshman to senior year, I have done well in all of my classes, thanks to my teachers who made the lessons easy to understand. They have made sure that we received a fantastic education, while at the same time making it personal enough that my fellow students and I felt engaged. Thanks to my experience at La Salle Academy, I have learned lessons that I will take with me throughout my life.

THE ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE FUND seeks to ensure that a Lasallian education is available and accessible to those students most in need. Through an initial program of student sponsorship and a growing program of grants to identified schools, the Fund provides tuition assistance for students to attend a Lasallian school. With your support, we are now providing $845,000 annually for our students in need. All are welcome to join the Brothers and their Partners-in-Mission in this specially dedicated scholarship fund which continues to grow each year.