My name is Melanie Arellano and I am a 2014 graduate of Bishop Ward High School. In October 2013, I was given the extraordinary opportunity to speak at the 2013 Gaudeamus Dinner. It was an honor to represent my school. I spoke about how scholarships provided by the Catholic Education Foundation greatly benefitted my family and I. It was a great chance for me to share why a Catholic education was so important to me and to give a personal thank you to all those that work so hard with CEF.

That same night, I learned CEF would be hosting an art event and pieces donated would be used to fund scholarships for next year's students and families in need. I knew right away this was a chance for me to give back and help others the way I had been helped.

I decided my donation would be a ceramic piece made especially for the CEF art event. Using the skills learned in Bishop Ward's art classes, I made a ceramic angel. I chose to make an angel because the theme for the 2013 Gaudeamus Dinner was "Angels Among Us". The dinner was an amazing experience that I will never forget. The CEF means a great deal to me so I thought an angel would be perfect.