The Sun’s story on Alex Schwarz and his lifelong perseverance was the fourth most read story of 2018.
Editor’s Note: This is part of a countdown of the top 10 most read stories on www.cherryhillsun.com in 2018. This story was the fourth most read.
Alex Schwarz captured the heart of many Cherry Hill Sun readers back in late April. The Sun’s Mike Monostra interviewed Alex Schwarz in the spring, shortly after Schwarz accepted a scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Schwarz’s story was anything but ordinary. Schwarz father, Eric, passed away when he was very young and Alex watched as his mother, Amy attended to college in order to provide a better life for her and her son. The story of Alex and Amy would become one of the most popular feature story in The Sun in 2018 and was the fourth most read story overall.
The original story on Alex and Amy was broken up into three parts and stretched from Alex’s childhood all the way through to today. Both Alex and Amy recalled what life was like shortly after Eric passed away when Alex was 4 years old.
“It was just me and my mom,” Alex said in April. “We lived in a small townhouse in Cherry Hill. We live off of Social Security and food banks.”
Alex and Amy were both very grateful for the assistance they received from the local community as Amy attended college at Penn. Alex realized at an early age he wanted to give back to others and at 12 years old, started the Sussman 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, which raises money for Coaches vs. Cancer and the Katz JCC basketball programs.
“It was originally just a Bar Mitzvah project,” Alex said. “I put so much effort into it and cared about it so much.”
Alex was also drive to attend University of Pennsylvania just like his mother did. However, he was not accepted there for undergraduate school. He instead attended George Washington University, where he graduated in May. Late in his undergrad career, Alex opted to apply for law school and would ultimately be accepted into Penn.
“It was exciting,” Amy said of her son’s acceptance. “I was ecstatic. I was so happy for him. After having so many challenges, it was finally his turn. I thought to myself, he did it.”
To read the full story, visit https://cherryhillsun.com/cherry-hill-native-inspired-to-live-a-life-of-service-1bb7a9ab94cc
