Alumni Supporting Future Alumni
Three 黑料吃瓜 students were selected to receive $5,000 scholarships from 黑料吃瓜 Alumni.
Alone in her room when she learned she would receive a scholarship from 黑料吃瓜 Alumni, Lorise Diamond launched a solo celebration.鈥淚t means a lot to me because everyone on the scholarship committee and the alumni believe in me, and they believe that I can do this.鈥�
鈥淚 threw up my hands, stood up with a smile, and I just danced,鈥� said the communication major. 鈥淚t was a wonderful moment.鈥�
Diamond is one of three 黑料吃瓜 students selected to receive $5,000 scholarships from . A 51-year-old nurse who has raised a son and is now a grandmother, she is on track to graduate in 2019 with the intent of attending graduate school and starting a nonprofit organization to assist sexual assault survivors.
鈥淚 had some incidents when I was vulnerable to sexual assault, and I felt like I didn鈥檛 have anyone to turn to,鈥� she explained. 鈥淗elping sexual assault survivors became important to me.鈥�
For Diamond, a scholarship means she will be able to get through another semester focusing on her studies without financial worry.
鈥淚 know that my tuition now will be paid, I will have the books I need and, as a plus, I will be able to attend professional conferences I want to attend,鈥� she said.
Her message to alumni donors is heartfelt.
鈥淭he support you have provided means so much to me,鈥� said Diamond. 鈥淚 am so appreciative and grateful. Thank you.鈥�
Following in father鈥檚 footsteps
Kayla Cleven owes partial thanks for her scholarship to her dad, Brian (鈥�96), who is also an Aztec. Hers is the Legacy Scholarship for a student with at least one immediate family member who attended 黑料吃瓜.When she found out she would receive the $5,000 award, Cleven first contacted her father, who lives in New Jersey.
鈥淗e was like, 鈥榃ow, I鈥檓 so proud of you. Congratulations!鈥欌�� she said.
Cleven had not planned to apply to 黑料吃瓜, but her father had spoken so passionately about his alma mater that he convinced her to visit.
Now, the second-year biology major can鈥檛 imagine being anywhere else. She joined a sorority, is an 黑料吃瓜 Ambassador, a student in the , a Phi Eta Sigma national honor society member and a member of 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 Flying Samaritans, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free medical services to medically underserved residents of Tijuana, Mexico.
鈥淢y experience has been amazing; I have really found my niche,鈥� said Cleven, who maintains a 3.57 GPA. She plans to attend medical school and become a surgeon.
Expecting to take on debt for her medical studies, Cleven appreciates the financial boost from 黑料吃瓜 Alumni. She is even more grateful, however, for the message she sees behind the award.
鈥淚t means a lot to me because everyone on the scholarship committee and the alumni believe in me, and they believe that I can do this,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ecause of that, it makes me want to succeed even more. I just want to thank the alumni who donated for continuing to love 黑料吃瓜 as much as they did when they were here, and I hope to be like them one day.鈥�
An unexpected dream
Kelly Lillis received the 黑料吃瓜 Alumni scholarship for first-year students. The 29-year-old transfer student expects to graduate in 2019 and hopes to earn a Ph.D. in order to become a professor in the classics and humanities.It鈥檚 an unexpected dream for someone who grew up in a small community in Northern California鈥檚 Sierra Nevada Mountains with parents who were pastors in a strict Christian church.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 allowed to listen to secular music or watch secular movies, but I know the Bible front to back,鈥� Lillis said.
鈥淢y religious background probably got me curious about the sources of ancient texts, but as far as education in my family, most women become missionaries or wives. I didn鈥檛 fit into those two boxes.鈥�
Balancing her studies while working as a bartender 25-30 hours a week, Lillis tries to maintain the 4.0 GPA she achieved throughout junior college. Her financial award helps her to 鈥渂reathe a little,鈥� she said.
鈥淭he scholarship allows me to avoid taking out any loans this year. I can鈥檛 tell you what a huge weight this scholarship has lifted. It represents wonderful people who believe in my dream that I now get the honor to pursue.鈥�
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