College:
Major:
Academic & Extracirricular Highlights:
- 3.48 High School GPA
- Operation Smile – Women in STEM Camp Intern
- Health & Medicine Club – Member
Quotes:
The buzz of the email notification came just as I was clocking out of a draining shift of work. The subject line “Congratulations you are an Anchor Scholar!!” replenished all my used-up energy in seconds, and I immediately sprinted to my boss to share the absolutely incredible news. Together, we ecstatically celebrated the blessing of a scholarship I had just been awarded. No words can truly capture and describe the profound wave of relief I felt in that moment, and the gush of appreciation that continues to linger.
I had always dreamed of going to college. Not because it’s a societal expectation pushed on students from primary school, but because immersing myself in learning brought me immeasurable fulfillment. Since I was young, I was always hungry for new knowledge and eager to broaden my perspective.
As I got older, however, reality set in, and I grew unsure whether college was even in reach with my background. No one in my family, or even relatives I knew, graduated from college. I thought, “If they couldn’t, how could I?”. The mountainous rate of tuition, housing, and board even furthered my doubts, as I come from a single-income household. Despite this, my determination to pursue higher education and my dream of becoming a pediatric radiology technologist helped me persevere through these overwhelming factors. In the fall, I will attend Virginia Commonwealth University for Pre-Radiation Sciences, and the awarded scholarship will make a major contribution to the costs that come with it.
This scholarship is appreciated more than you could ever know. The Anchor Scholarship Foundation has provided tremendous relief from my financial burden from college, but it means more than just that to me. Being chosen means someone believes in my ability to achieve my dreams. I will not take this honor lightly and vow to use this opportunity to its fullest extent. Truly, I am so incredibly thankful.
~ Ava