4、當我收到哈佛錄取通知時，我對父親說：“還記得我11歲時說過的‘我想上哈佛’嗎？”
2005年Elks（厄爾克斯）全國基金會7月11日至14日將在內華達州裏諾（Reno）市的會議中心舉行頒獎大會，來自全美國各州的共10000多名會員將出席這次大會。
關懷和互助（Care and Share）是基金會的宗旨，所以基金會每年拿出200多萬美元作為獎學金，獎勵500名優秀學生。其中最高的一等獎為最有價值的學生獎，每年評選出一名男生和一名女生，可獲得4年每年15000美元總共60000美金的大學獎學金。
2005年全美共有11000多名優秀生提出申請，最後定奪為來自賓夕法尼亞州的羅伊·金米（Roy Kimmey）和馬裏蘭州的陳海雯（Haiwen Chen）獲最高一等獎，並應邀出席基金會的年會，兩位學生今年均獲哈佛大學錄取。
我們一行剛到裏諾市後，海雯就成了明星似的，首先會務組派加長型林肯房車來機場迎接我們，安排我們入住豪華的希爾頓飯店。
除了出席會議的晚宴等活動，13日專們安排接受代表谘詢，回答問題，大會的簡報也有海雯的相片和介紹。海雯與我們出入飯店時很多人都找她合影，在電梯裏大家都向她表示祝賀。
最使我感動的是在一次主要捐助人的晚宴上，一位老太太手裏拿著很老很舊的傻瓜相機要和海雯合影。美國很多人並不追求自己生活的奢華，卻樂於捐助社會。參加會議的會員有富翁，也有普通百姓，有政府官員和律師等等，但大家都平等相處，沒有什麼人炫耀地位和財富，都相互交換名片，相互握手擁抱，相互問候寒暄，都為教育事業捐助設獎感到自豪，一股濃鬱的重教興學之風讓人感慨萬千。
在14日的大會閉幕式上，陳海雯在地區獎學金負責人Emma Hasse（艾瑪·赫斯）女士，馬裏蘭州獎學金負責人Joe allozzi（喬·蒲拉茲）先生，馬裏蘭州主席Lee Davis（李·大衛）先生和全國基金會獎學金負責人Jim OKelley（金·凱利）先生的陪同下登上主席台，這時會場上10000多名會員起立鼓掌歡迎，掌聲雷動，經久不息。海雯作了大約10分鍾的演講，全國基金會托管委員會主席Jack Traynor（傑克·崔勒）先生給海雯頒了獎。
海雯發言的原文是：
You have no idea how much of an honor it is for me to be named the Elks National Foundation's Most Valuable Student。Before I begin I have to thank Ms。Emma Hasse，Mr。Bill Milburn，and the whole Essex Lodge of Maryland，Mr。Carroll Wagner，Mr。Lee Davis and the entire Maryland，Delaware，D。C。association，and the Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman the Honorable Jack Traynor，its Director Jim O’Kelley，and the whole national association。
Most especially I want to thank Mr。Joe Pallozzi，the Maryland state scholarship chair，for his care and concern。His continual guidance throughout this entire process has been invaluable，and without him I would certainly not be here today。Lastly，I want to thank my parents who are here as they always are，supporting me，encouraging me，and of course saying embarrassing things about me。
Now I wish to take a moment to share an experience which has had a profound effect on me。Imagine youre eight years old，a child on vacation with your family in China。One night after dinner while walking home，you encounter a little five-year-old destitute girl on the street covered in dust and forgotten to society，begging for money and food，what would you do？You help her，give her what you can spare，but she begins following you，whimpering and begging with a shrill broken voice，tapping you with sooty fingers covered in hardened mud。I experienced such an encounter one night while walking down a street in Fuzhou，my hometown in China。I looked at her，and her thin frail figure seemed like it would disintegrate with the slightest touch，and her dark hollow eyes，so completely and painfully void of hope were the windows to a soul dimming as rapidly as the dusk。Those brief moments，which have been so vividly engraved upon my memory，has since shaped my ideals and aspirations。I truly realized how unfortunate so many people in the world are，and I shuddered to think how many other little girls lived as she，lived day-by-day hoping only to survive。
The memory of that little girl has been a great inspiration for me to use my resources to try to make a difference in the lives of others。I have been fortunate enough to have had opportunities at Catonsville High School to be of service。I was the president of the National Art Honor Society，whose goal is to make our community and the world a more beautiful place in which to live。To achieve this goal，we have done countless projects，making crafts and painting canvasses ranging from the face of an eager young child to graffiti covered walls。Last year we were even able to design and paint a mural for the local YMCA，raising over$1500 for the Johns Hopkins Childrens Center。I helped to make crafts，paint，write and edit articles for our monthly publication，The Palette，and organize events such as our annual community crafts fair and our art auction，where we sold our student pieces and did face painting for children。Seeing the glitter in the eyes of a child，whether it be from acquiring new hope that she will not always have to be ill or simply from having a Sponge Bob Square Pants or a rainbow cat painted on her face，I have come to love volunteering，and it has taken on profound significance for me。