By Sara K. Satullo | For lehighvalleylive.com | Posted March 20, 2019 at 02:17 PM | Updated March 20, 2019 at 07:05 PM
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Dennis Rosado learned to juggle more than most adults while attending Liberty High School.
The Freemansburg teen practically worked full time to help support his family while earning top marks in his Advanced Placement and honors classes.
He was such a dedicated student Rosado managed to graduate early, so school officials had to trick him to get him back to Liberty to tell him he’d won a full ride to Moravian College.
He showed up two weeks ago, resume in hand, thinking he was ready for the second round of scholarship interviews. Instead, he got news that changed his life.
“I was just speechless,” Rosado, 19, said Wednesday morning following a ceremony at Liberty.
This is the fourth year that the Bethlehem Area School District and Moravian have partnered to award two district students – one from Liberty and one from Freedom High School – with a full, four-year scholarship to the Bethlehem school.
Moravian College President Bryon Grigsby suggested the scholarship as a way to deepen the bond between the college and its hometown school district.
Any Liberty or Freedom can apply. High school guidance counselors whittle down the applicant pool and then Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Josephy Roy works with Moravian to select the winners.
All of the scholarship winners have compelling life stories, Superintendent Joseph Roy said. They’ve overcome great obstacles while still excelling in school and many are first-generation college students, he said.
When Freedom’s winner Olivia Swiadek enrolled at Farmersville Elementary School in kindergarten, she did not speak English. But she was determined to not spend a lot of time in the ESOL classes.
Her parents immigrated from Poland in 1998 and the family lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, N.Y., until it was time for her to start school. The family relocated to Bethlehem because of the great school system, her mother Urszula Swiadek said.
They’ve managed to build a local, Polish community – 14 of their Bethlehem Township neighbors are Polish – and on Saturday mornings Swiadek teaches the language to first graders at an Allentown church.
During Wednesday’s celebration at Freedom, Swiadek said it still all felt surreal.
“I can’t wait to see where this is all going to take me,” she said.
She’ll be the first in her family to attend college.
“I can prove to my parents all of their hard work was worth it,” she said grinning.
Her mother never doubted their sacrifices would be worth it. Her only child’s been driven since day one. She first wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon (until she took her first anatomy class) and would self-diagnose her gymnastics injuries.
Today, Swiadek has her eyes on earning an MBA and possibly going into corporate law. She plans to major in business at Moravian and minor in law.
“They don’t have to worry about putting money away for me,” Swiadek said. “I did it myself.”
She was drawn to Moravian’s small student body – she says it has a family-like feel – and class size where she feels she’ll build bonds with professors.
When the students arrive at Moravian, they’ll have a built-in family: the six prior scholarship winners, who all have 3.0 GPAs or better.
Each spring, Grigsby and Roy get all of the students together for lunch.
When Rosado began his freshman year at Liberty, he was drawn to the business department. A teacher guided him towards accounting.
“Business means money,” he said.
That’s not a statement of greed. Much of Rosado’s young life has been defined by not having enough money. His mother walked out on the family when he was 13.
They became homeless when his father lost his job and couldn’t afford their one-bedroom Southside apartment. An uncle took them in.
When his father qualified for disability payments, the family got their own place, but the check doesn’t cover all the bills for father, son and Chelsey, who is now 13. Rosado began working his freshman year at various jobs, averaging 27 to 35 hours a week.
“There’s no free time, there’s no video games, there’s hardly time for friends,” he said.
His father, who is also named Dennis Rosado, said his son has always stayed on the right path and met his goals.
“I am so happy for him and I am so proud of him for the hard work,” his dad said. “He is trying to help his family. It is like a dream came true. I still can’t believe it.”
Rosado, who will be the first in his family to attend a four-year college, managed to graduate early by never taking a study hall and passing all of his classes.
“He just amazes me,” his business teacher Alicia Langmayer said. “He’s always hard at work, never an excuse.
“He’s remarkable,” Langmayer later said. “He wants to major in business and his presence in the department is tremendous. He’s always helping other students.”
Rosado is now working full-time at the Zulily warehouse in Bethlehem to save money and help his family.
For much of his time at Liberty, his teachers had no idea all that he was juggling.
“He never missed school,” said Jennifer Chomo, his Spanish teacher, who helped him write his scholarship essay. “Never let on that he is working a full-time job to support his father and his sister. He worked so hard. I didn’t know the true story until I read his essay.”
The superintendent was impressed by all Rosado overcame, but also that he accepted his teachers’ help when they offered it. It can be tough for first-generation college students to navigate how to get into college and many kids fail to ask for help, Roy said.
On Wednesday, Rosado wrapped up the night shift at 5 a.m. and nabbed three hours of sleep before the celebration.
You couldn’t tell at all. He showed up grinning, looking sharp in a suit.
Liberty High School's Dennis Rosado is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Liberty High School's Dennis Rosado is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Freedom's Olivia Swiadek poses with her mother Urszula after receiving the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Freedom's Olivia Swiadek is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. She is pictured with Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Jospeh Roy, left, and Moravian College President Bryon Grigsby. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Liberty High School's Dennis Rosado is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Liberty High School's Dennis Rosado is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. He is pictured with Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Jospeh Roy, left, and Moravian College President Bryon Grigsby. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Freedom's Olivia Swiadek is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Liberty High School's Dennis Rosado is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Freedom's Olivia Swiadek is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Liberty High School's Dennis Rosado poses with his family after receiving the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Freedom's Olivia Swiadek is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
READ ABOUT LAST YEAR'S WINNERS: Bethlehem students overcome obstacles to win full-ride to Moravian (PHOTOS)
Liberty High School's Dennis Rosado is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Freedom's Olivia Swiadek is the recipient of the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
District Superintendent Jospeh Roy, left, speaks before Freedom's Olivia Swiadek receives the superintendent's scholarship to Moravian College on March 20, 2019. (Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com)
Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
To read this article on LehighValleyLive.com visit First-Generation College Students from Bethlehem Area Win Full-Ride to Moravian College (Photos)