The Michael Burke Sr. Memorial Scholarship

Bringing young people closer to Christ

Applications have closed for 2023-2024

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Applications have closed for 2023-2024 |

Mission of the Scholarship

Are you passionate about sharing the Catholic faith? Do you currently attend or plan on attending a college, university, or trade school?

The Michael Burke Sr. Memorial Scholarship aims to encourage and empower young adults to be active witnesses of the Catholic faith and create positive community spaces to encounter young people, invite them to transform their lives to have personal relationships with Jesus Christ and give them the opportunity to evangelize their peers and those within their surrounding community. This will be done through the execution of a project, developed by the awarded recipients.

Awardees will receive $5000 per school year ($2500 per semester) to help offset the costs of tuition.

Encourage college students to grow in faith in Jesus Christ

Build leadership skills among Catholic young adults

Inspire college students to remain engaged with the Church

The Goal

This scholarship aims to equip college students (including incoming freshmen) who have a knowledge of the faith and interest in sharing Christ's teachings with their peers. Recipients commit to the development and execution of a project that will engage their peers in a relationship with Christ centered on the values of the Catholic faith. Recipients will be required to attend a workshop over the summer to develop their idea into a project and implement it at the school they are attending.

 

Who is Michael Burke Sr. and Youth Apostles?

Youth Apostles is a mixed association of priests, lay, and consecrated (learn more about us here). This scholarship is in honor of Michael Burke Sr., who was a generous and dedicated supporter of Youth Apostles and its mission to help young people draw closer to Christ specifically on college campuses. 

Scholarship Information

After submitting the application:

You will be notified before April 20th, 2024 by email whether or not you are in the top 10 potential recipients, of which five will ultimately be chosen. If you are in the top 10, you will then be interviewed by a panel on the scholarship board on your character and zeal for sharing the faith with others. If selected, you will be asked to attend a two-day workshop over the summer before the start of your semester to develop your project.

This two-day workshop will ensure that your project will help you to:

  1. Grow in your faith by sharing the love of Christ

  2. Nurture the faith of your peers

  3. Build the foundation of a community within the local church or campus ministry

  4. Encourage life-long practice of the faith beyond college

Awardees Responsibility

Each recipient will receive $2500 each semester ($5000 annually). This award money is intended to assist with educational expenses (i.e. room, board, books, tuition, etc.). An additional stipend will be included in order to execute their respective project. This stipend will have a limit of $200 for the entire year, but may increase depending upon the need for the project.

Applications are closed for 2023-2024.

If you have questions, please contact the Development Officer, Tyler Fabian: tyler.fabian@youthapostles.org

Past Scholarship Awardees

2022 - John Paul Abela, Abigail Adams, and Anastasia Leffas

2023 - Melissa Balint, Jamie Cross, Luke Malanga, Christopher Pascoe, and Julia Pederson

2023 Awardees

  • Melissa Balint

    James Madison University

    Who inspired you to grow deeper in your faith?

    My family inspires me to grow deeper in my faith.

  • Jamie Cross

    Christopher Newport University

    Who inspired you to grow deeper in your faith?

    My mom. Her cheerful heart, abiding trust in God's plans, close relationship with the Blessed Mother, and the way that she has oriented her life around serving her family, students, and friends is so beautiful. I am so grateful to have had her as a true example of what it looks like to live in love as a Catholic, and to call her my mom and best friend.

  • Luke Malanga

    University of Virginia

    Who inspired you to grow deeper in your faith?

    My teachers have always been an inspiration for me to grow deeper in love and knowledge of the Lord

  • Christopher Pascoe

    Christendom College

    Who inspired you to grow deeper in your faith?

    Laura Gossin is a Christendom College alumnus, an author, a parent, a teacher, and a friend of my moms. I had the pleasure of being her student for a homeschool class on C.S. Lewis and the Kingdom of God. She inspired me to grow deeper in my Faith by encouraging me to meditate upon the Scriptures daily and by lovingly encouraging me to be a humble servant of God through various examples to follow—and not to follow—in Lewis’s writings, various writings of the saints and the Word of God.

  • Julia Pederson

    Franciscan University of Steubenville

    Who inspired you to grow deeper in your faith?

    Although I have been blessed to know many people who give themselves to teach others about the faith, my parish priest Father Lou has demonstrated to me the Lord’s gentle love, compassion, and care, and inspires me daily to dive into the depths of my relationship with God.