The Peter J Carril Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a college-bound senior male or female basketball player at Liberty High School, whose effort, achievement, and character most exemplify those qualities which were foundational as well as sustaining throughout Pete Carril’s life.
Young Pete grew up on East Third St. on Bethlehem’s South Side in a single-parent household. His father worked long hours at the steel mill. His older sister Anita, kept an eye on him, while the Bethlehem Boys Club and the Calvo family provided him with the warmth and guidance of a second family. He had a talent for the game of basketball and it would become his one, true passion, eventually earning him a place in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Pete went on to attend Liberty High School and do well as a basketball player, developing good skills and work ethic under the tutelage of Coach Joseph Preletz. He graduated from Liberty in 1948, and it was Joe Preletz who sent his star player off to nearby Lafayette College with the inspirational poem that Carril would hold onto throughout his entire life. “The Man Who Thinks He Can” is a poem about tenacity, true grit, and overcoming obstacles against all odds. But most of all, it is a poem about believing in oneself, about never giving up, about making something come true because the belief was there that one could.
The Peter J Carril Memorial Scholarship will go to the player who demonstrates:
- Integrity, talent, and sportsmanship in basketball
- Integrity and scholastic achievement in academics
- Good citizenship in the school community as well as in the Bethlehem community
- A willingness to put the success of the team first…unselfishness.
- Leadership qualities thatinvolve kindness, sensitivity, and inclusiveness
- A strong work ethic in the classroom and on the court
- The ability to make good decisions both on and off the court
- Courage with confronting the challenges of the game as well as those in everyday life along with the tenacity to never give up
- A strong system of core values and the belief that no matter what, he is the man who thinks he can.
The scholarship amount of $2,500 is awarded annually at the Athletic Awards Banquet at the end of the year. It will be presented to the recipient who is enrolled in an accredited college, with the intent of using the award toward the payment of tuition bills and/or academic books/supplies. Liberty will send the financial award directly to the college where the recipient has decided to attend. A framed copy of the poem will be given to the recipient, as well.
Thank you Tim vanBlommesteyn (Princeton, ‘75) for being the initial voice of this scholarship. It is one of (if not THE) best ways of honoring that young Liberty High School player– #17 –who had the talent, drive, and passion to make a dream happen.
Written by Lisa D. Carril (Lafayette, ‘76, Lehigh, ‘90), daughter.
Copyright 2023 Lisa D. Carril. All rights reserved.
