The Serra meeting on March 27 was devoted to the vocations essay contest winners who presented their winning essays at the meeting.  They were joined by family, teachers and principals as guests of Serra.  This year thirteen schools participated and the first-place boy and girl each received $150 and the second-place boy and girl each received $75.  The school of each winner received $200.

The vocation contest has be en a great success and is a very effective way to promote an interest in vocations.  The essay contest is well known by the sixth-grade teachers in the Catholic school system.  It encourages students to think about vocations and a great side benefit is that teachers and school officials become aware of the Serra Club and its mission.  The vocations essay contest is open to all sixth-grade students in Catholic schools in the archdioceses of Kansas City Kansas. 

This year the topic of the essays was changed to make the essays more introspective and to encourage the students to think about how vocations are an individual responsibility requiring deliberate consideration.  The new topic is “Why is it important for me to think about my vocation in life”.

Dan Meara, along with several helpers, reach out to the schools, coordinating the competition.  The efforts of Dan and those who volunteer to read and judge the essays make this contest an uplifting and effective way to promote youth involvement and consideration of their own vocations.