“Being able to be part of St. Adalbert’s is really a gift that I was able to receive. Being there helping and being involved in the Church and the ministries there, it's helped me grow both in faith and as a person, because I've been able to interact with a lot of parishioners there and been able to help them and just be there for whenever the priest or someone else needs help.”
St. Joseph High School senior and St. Adalbert’s parishioner Esteban Alvarez is our Redeemer Radio 95.7FM Student of the Month for March, brought to you by Ben’s Soft Pretzels. The Redeemer Radio Student of the month recognizes high school seniors who excel in the classroom, show a strong Catholic faith and are involved in extracurricular activities.
Esteban is one of 8 kids in his family and the oldest son. He admits life in a big family can be chaotic at times but it’s also rewarding.
“Right now my role in the household is basically to help out as much as I can with my siblings and try to help them with their homework because my two older sisters are at college, so they're not at home,” Esteban explains. “So I started being able to take more responsibilities, like taking care of the kids when my parents need to go out and also helping them with their responsibilities as well as their homework. They come to me when they need something. I like being able to be there for them when they need me.”
Esteban didn’t become Catholic until he was in 3rd grade.
“I knew what Church was and I would go here and there, but I wasn't extremely involved in my faith until my siblings and I transferred over from public schools to St. Adalbert’s. Then my parents asked me if I wanted to be baptized. And I said, yes. I went to classes for a few weeks and after a while, I was able to be baptized along with my three younger brothers. We were able to choose our own godparents and we chose some priests that we knew that were family friends. So from that point forward, I became more involved in my Church and in my faith.”
Esteban says being able to go threw some classes to understand what baptism was, really helped.
“From that point on, I started understanding a little bit more what being Catholic meant,” he continued.” And I would see like these people in my life that would be playing out their roles in the Church and that really helped me to gain more understanding of what I was going and coming into. My two older sisters, they were baptized when they were younger. I didn't really know because they couldn't tell me what it was like. But I really liked being able to answer for myself. Like they asked the questions to renounce evil and you accepted the faith as your own. I was able to do that. I think that's what really helped me to become really involved.”
Esteban takes his studies seriously. He has a 3.7 GPA and plans to study pre-law in college because he wants to help others.
“Being able to learn a lot to understand things is something that I've always looked forward to and being able to know a lot or learn quickly is something that's helped me get out of certain situations and figure out a lot of things,” he says. “So problem solving is something that's a big part of who I am and I like being able to learn. It’s definitely a blessing.”
He says he’s enjoyed his time at St. Joseph High School where he’s a part of student council, unity council and the National Honors Society.
“I've really liked how I was able to go into it not knowing many people and then freshman year I was able to branch out a little bit more and talk to a lot of new people that I never imagined that I would meet and just start friendships and relationships that I've been continued to grow and keep.”
At St. Adalbert’s, he’s served in many ways. He’s been a Youth Group Leader, videographer for Masses, Eucharistic Minster and Altar...
