Students give $15k to Pennies for Peace

By Jennifer Grybowski
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE - After a year-long district-wide effort to raise enough money to build a school in Afghanistan or Pakistan, the efforts of Tantasqua Regional High School (TRHS) students were rewarded.
A group of 16, including Tantasqua instructors Deborah McKinstry, Amy and Carol Willard, former instructors Norma Roy and Sue Matheson, along with a dozen TRHS students, presented a $15,000 check to author Greg Mortenson Dec. 5 at the Odyssey bookstore at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley.
TRHS and TRJHS students were given the number one New York Times best seller “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time” by Mortenson and David Oliver Relin for their summer reading assignment as part of a school-wide initiative to participate in the Pennies for Peace program, which builds schools throughout central Asia.
The students said they were humbled by Mortenson’s presentation.
“It was invigorating, eye-opening,” Liam Fritz said. “His stature was unforgettable. He talked about failing. He didn’t look at himself as a righteous person.”
“He was so modest,” Kara Fimian said. “It’s such a different lifestyle.”
“It was cool because he seemed like such a regular guy,” Marissa Loughran said. “You wouldn’t guess he was slowly changing the world.”
Amber Drake agreed.
“A normal human being living that way is so inspiring,” Drake said.
Fimian said that when her and her classmates first read the book, it wasn’t exactly personal, but getting to see Mortenson in person drove the story home. Now, she said, when she hears someone refer to people in that area of the world as terrorists, it makes her pause, and want to educate them.
“It was a really great experience,” Drake said. “I learned a lot while I was there”
Samantha Stagias said she was particularly struck by a quote from his speech: “If you educate a boy, you educate an individual. If you educate a girl, you educate a community.” She thought it was especially poignant how Mortenson related his speech to the ongoing war, and how he believes education promotes world peace.
“He gave you more of a peaceful outlook on the world,” Stagias said.
Elena Gillis agreed, and said she thought it was admirable how Mortenson is in contact with General David Patraeus, and how they’ve done a lot of work together talking to the elders of the villages, promoting a peaceful resolution through education.
“When we think of [that area], we think of the war and how we are using bombs to solve problems,” Loughran said. “This is such a simple approach that’s proving so much more effective. It prompts [the people] to choose education instead of the Taliban.”
When the speech was over, the group was immediately ushered up to the stage. Mortenson was not told ahead of time that they were there to present the check.
“We are quite thankful to the Odyssey for that opportunity,” McKinstry said.
“We got a standing ovation from the crowd [when they presented check],” Steve said.
“It was sort of a big deal,” Drake said.
But what was most endearing to the group, was Mortenson’s reaction.
“He was so pleased,” McKinstry said. “I got the feeling that he would have spent two hours with us if he could have.”
“He took the time to talk to us instead of rushing us along,” Fritz said. “It was cool to meet the person who is living it.”
“It was really exciting to go and meet him and really exciting to present the check because it’s a lot of money and it can do a lot of good,” Gillis said.
“It felt really good because we’re just some kids from farm towns,” Loughran said.
McKinstry said she was overwhelmed by the support both school wide and from the community during their Pennies for Peace initiative.
“We had received so many kind and generous checks from the community,” she said. “We got some checks from people we knew, and some from strangers who had just heard what we were doing. We felt we were a part of his mission and embraced it.”
McKinstry pointed to the fact that the book is still on the New York Times best seller list.
“His message of building peace through education is resonating with the American people and I appreciate that more this time around,” she said.
However, she said his speech differed in some ways from the one she originally heard two years ago.
“For the first time I heard him express concern in our politics,” McKinstry said.