Palatine senior wins VFW scholarship

When Palatine High School senior Aidan Busch was looking for ways to help pay for college, he found a scholarship contest that would end up creating opportunities and friendships he never imagined.

Aidan was a winner in the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States 2017 National Voice of Democracy Program and recipient of a $2,000 scholarship. He won the district and statewide levels of the competition and traveled to Washington, D.C., as a finalist at the national level. He was sponsored by VFW Post 1337 in Mount Prospect.

"I am honored and humbled at the same time," Aidan said. "To have their endorsement was a very cool thing. It is a huge honor."

The VFW is a nonprofit veterans service organization comprised of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, guard and reserve forces. The theme of this year's essay contest was, "My Responsibility to America." Aidan had to not only write the essay, but also present the essay in speech format.

"This gave me a better empathy and greater understanding of veterans and what they have contributed and sacrificed for all of us," Aidan said. "You hear about veterans' issues on the news or from your neighbor who served, but when you have face-to-face, extended conversations with veterans, it gives you a perspective of how fortunate we are to live where we do."

Aidan, who hopes to study political science or international relations in college, said the whole experience was "mind-opening." He said he had the pleasure of meeting veterans and gaining friendships with people all over the world.

"I now have friends in all 50 states, Bahrain, Germany, and Puerto Rico, which is a cool thing that came out of this experience," he said. "I have been in contact with them and we might all meet up over the summer, too."