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WOODS CROSS — A Woods Cross High School senior entered a contest to win a car, but her eventually winning it wasn't the biggest surprise. Instead of keeping the car, she gave it to someone who she thought needed it more.
Jessica Faasavalu's English teacher asked her to enter an essay on ‘Why You Need a New Car’ into a yearly contest held by the school. The winner would receive a Mazda 3 2007 from Bountiful Mazda.
Faasavalu, however, already had her own car.
“Then my English teacher offered extra credit, so I said 'OK, I’ll do it,'” she said.
As Faasavalu began writing she decided she couldn’t submit her entry on her own behalf.
“This isn’t right. I can’t say I need this car, because I don’t, and I just twirled around in my chair and thought, 'Ya know, Kennedee needs this car,'” said Faasavalu.
Kennedee Black, also a Woods Cross High School grad, and Faasavalu have been friends since they were 2. Kennedee doesn’t own a car.
“I erased what I had written and wrote another one,” said Faasavalu.
This is what Faasavalu wrote:
While a new, stylish car would make us all happier, we don't need it.
–Jessica Faasavalu
"I would love to win the car, but if I did, I would give it to my friend, Kennedee Black. I understand that that is not what I’m supposed to write about — I know I’m supposed to tell you why I should win the car, but as I was beginning my essay, I realized that I don’t need the car, Kennedee does.
"I have a car. It’s old, but it works. My family is not financially sound, but we have enough to make us happy, and while a new, stylish car would make us all happier, we don’t need it.
"Kennedee is a senior at Woods Cross High School. She was never on the high honor or honor rolls, she was never on the honors citizenship roll, and she doesn’t have a great attendance streak. She is not what teachers would call the “stellar student,” but she has been through more than any of the students and teachers realize.
"Many people judge her, but she is doing everything she physically can. Kennedee has had substantial medical, family and other issues that have made it so that her financial and filial situation is rocky. She has taken classes at Viewmont High School to complete her CNA certificate so that she could begin working at The Legacy House Retirement Home in Bountiful. She has worked with her school counselor to enroll in classes so that she could work towards graduation. She has missed a lot of school because of medical reasons and work, but she has gone to her teachers and works hard to complete as much missing work as she can in order to keep her grades above failing. She has worked more than 30 hours, and sometimes more than 40 hours a week to help her mother support her brothers at home.
"I know that I might not win by telling Bountiful Mazda to not give me the car, but to give it to Kennedee. Kenn has been my friend for so long and she’s been through so much, that I feel like the least I can do is try to give her a chance at owning her own car to get her to her job, help her mom run errands or carpools, and have a little freedom for herself."
During the teen’s senior school party, an announcement was made that Faasavalu’s essay had won.
“I didn’t have words to say,” said Black. “I bawled for two days straight.”
The only problem, Black didn’t know how to drive a manual operated car. Faasavalu spent the next week teaching her.
“She’s more than a friend to me," Black said. "She’s definitely a sister."
