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Perry Miska
8th Grader, St. Brigid School
"I like Algebra best. I get it really easily. It makes me feel good that
I can do it," says Perry Miska with a sheepish grin. The lanky 14-year-old
is a basketball player and stand-out student at St. Brigid. He's got some
pretty typical interests for a teenager, WWF Wrestling's "The Rock" among
them. And Perry has the ambition to attend college and law school. Most of
all, he's got a mother who refused to be daunted by her circumstances.
"I worked two jobs to send him to private school—Montessori pre-school
and Mission Delores before St. Brigid," says Emma Miska. "I wouldn't get home
till eleven or midnight. I was very sad that I couldn't spend more time
with Perry. But I told myself that if I had to. I'd work three jobs just
to keep him in this school."
The alternative was a public school where too many students graduate
without being able to read and where police are a common sight on campus.
"Kids steal your backpack," says Perry. "They beat you up and take your
homework. There's drugs and alcohol. I'd be very scared to go there."
Thanks to his Guardsmen scholarship, Perry can stay where he is and
Emma can now work just one job. She's grateful that she can now go to
teacher conferences and take in Perry's after-school basketball games.
Says Perry about St. Brigid, "It feels like home. The teachers are nice.
The coaches are nice. My friends are nice."
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