FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS, August 3, 2009… Alyssa Valcourt’s winning essay in Fitchburg Federal Credit Union’s annual Higher Education Award contest has earned her a $500 scholarship award. The award was announced today by Barbara L. Goodwin, president and CEO of the local Credit Union.
A Fitchburg resident, Alyssa graduated from Fitchburg High School with the Class of 2009. She will attend Bridgewater State College in the fall as a cultural anthropology major.
Her winning essay, which focuses on her experience as a Fitchburg Public Library volunteer, follows:
“Throughout the past year and a half, I have learned that there is much more to a library than meets the eye. It is not only a building that brings a variety of books together, it also brings together all kinds of different people from the community as well.
“As I put books away every Wednesday, I have not only learned about where the books go on the shelves, but I have also gained knowledge about my community as well.
“A variety of people come in and out of the doors to use the library everyday for many different reasons. They are somehow drawn to what the library has to offer to them. Whether it’s children who come in for story time or an adult to browse through the books in search of a good read, there is something special about the library that makes them want to come and visit.
“This variety of people, which make up my community have different reasons for visiting the library, yet they all seem to have one thing in common. Knowledge. They enter to find information to enhance their minds and learn lessons to use in their lives.
“When I unlock my door to the library, I enter my newly found haven. I forget about what went on that day, and I relax. Just like everyone else, I am drawn to smell of paper and rows of books in the library. I enter, and I want to learn. I want to learn about my community, which in turn, allows me to learn about myself. The people I have met in the library have allowed me to find out that I like to help others, whether it’s by finding a book that they are on a quest to find or by listening to the stories they have to tell.
“It is here at the library where I first read a book to my mother and had a sensational feeling of accomplishment, and it is here, still at the same library where I still feel that sensational feeling of accomplishment every week when I volunteer. Here, I have found a place where I feel connected to my community, like a quilt, made out of different shapes and colors, sewn together by knowledge to form one. This quilt is my security blanket, my haven.”
Members of the Friends of the Fitchburg Public Library are eligible for membership in Fitchburg Federal Credit Union, along with employees and retirees of the City of Fitchburg, Fitchburg State College, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, Fitchburg Housing Authority, LUK, Inc., and their family members, and also students of Fitchburg Public Schools and their family members. Membership is also open to members of the Friends of Friends of Coggshall Park and their family members.
Fitchburg Federal Credit Union, founded in 1957, is located at 65 North Street in Fitchburg, with a Student Branch at Fitchburg High School and online banking services. Deposits are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corporation (MSIC).