Maureen Santora of the Christopher Santora Education Scholarship Fund Returns to Close-Up Talk Radio

LIGHTNING RELEASES: Long Island City, NY (4/11/2014) – Christopher Santora had only been a firefighter with Engine 54, Ladder 4 for two months when he died tragically on September 11th.

“It devastated us, but my husband and I both understood we couldn’t change what happened,” recalls his mother Maureen Santora. “We wanted to do something that would benefit the future generations and help them remember September 11th.”

In his memory, Maureen and Al Santora established the Christopher Santora Educational Scholarship Fund, which awards $50,000 in scholarships each year to New York City’s elementary, middle school and high school students. Scholarships awarded based on an essay competition. The essays are evaluated based on the student’s response to the topic, grammar and spelling, originality and their ability to relate the topic to their personal experience.

“It’s always a topic that’s related to current events because Christopher loved history,” says Maureen. “It’s something we hope the kids give some thought to because we’re looking for essays that reveal the integrity of the student’s character in what they write.”

In light of the recent passing of Nelson Mandela, this year’s question asked students to differentiate between heroes and legends.

“I wanted them to give me their definition of what a hero and a legend is and to write about a legend in our world history, why they chose that person and why that person was significant to them personally based on their definition,” says Maureen.

According to Maureen, heroes do something extraordinary in the moment. They care more about the safety of others than their own. A legend is somebody who, for good or bad, has changed the course of history.

“By the end of April I will have had a chance to read the essays and I’ll be able to share with the audience the kinds of people the students chose to write about,” says Maureen.

Close-Up Talk Radio will feature Maureen Santora in an interview with Jim Masters on April 14th, April 21st and April 28th at 7pm EST.

Listen to the show http://ift.tt/1lTbuAm. If you have a question for our guest, call (347) 996-3389.

For more information on Christopher Santora Educational Scholarship Fund, visit http://http://ift.tt/1hGPYJd

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