Category: Scholarship

[O]ctober 13th, 1999, 9:00 pm Indian Standard Time: The flight attendant came on the speaker and asked everyone to buckle their seatbelt. I was both nervous and anxious. I had never been on a flight before, nor had I even been outside of the northern region of India. Just hours before my flight, our house was overflowing with my aunts and uncles who were all giving me hugs and crying as they said goodbye. My dad was chosen out of thousands by the Indian Embassy to represent them in United States. As I sat on the plane looking for the last time at the beautiful Delhi skyline, I knew deep inside my seven year-old heart that this would be one of the most memorable journeys of my life.

After overcoming the initial homesickness, I found America fascinating. I loved the friendly teachers who brought cake to school, loved the beautiful apartment the Embassy provided us and even began to love the cold harsh winters that brought snow and a new tradition of Santa Claus. I enjoyed and lived innocently in my little 7-year-old world–not knowing that it was temporary and soon would come to an end.

September 11, 2002: While this date was remembered by most as the one year anniversary of the horrifying event of 9/11, I will always remember it as ground zero of the greatest challenge in my life. It was the day that my father decided not to return to India, at the end of his three-year term. It was the day he would give up his secure position in the Indian government to give my younger brother and me an American education. It was the day we moved from a lavish three-bedroom apartment to a cramped efficiency. It was the day my mother picked up an extra shift at work and my father went back to school to get an American degree. It was the day we downsized and told my six-year-old brother that Santa wouldn’t be coming anymore. It was the day, together as a family, we promised to support each other through our struggle to achieve the American Dream.

It was also the day that I became motivated to excel in school and avail myself of every opportunity. At the age of ten I gained an appreciation for the sacrifices that my parents were making.

For some people, life seems to come naturally. This is not the case with me. I have experienced many challenges, first hand. The cultural adjustment, loss of family and sacrifice of material comforts have made me a stronger person. The struggles and sacrifices of my parents remind me each day of the hard work that is necessary in order to achieve my goals and to make-up for what was lost.

I chose to be a Biology major because I know that everyone has struggles and that in this fight against life we have so much to lose. We need our good health if we are going to succeed in our attempts to achieving our dreams. I wouldn’t be able to tell you where my family and I would be if along with our struggles we also had to deal with the burden of wavering health. We need our physical strength to support our emotional one. This is why after I graduate from Towson University I plan on going into research to find a cure for infectious diseases like Cancer and HIV. This is why wining this scholarship would mean the world to me as it would allow me to fund my education and help me receive the necessary tools for making a difference in today’s community.

We are proud to announce Akanksha Arya is one of the current JustJobs Scholarship finalists. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), click the ‘star’ just above comments section below, and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

[W]e are proud to announce that Stephanie Sammons has won our December 2012 JustJobs Scholarship award.

Stephanie’s essay was moving and beautifully written.  She is a prime example of perseverance and selflessness as she uses her talents and experience to benefit others.  After overcoming a traumatic brain injury suffered during an automobile accident, Stephanie pieced her life back together and recently began an unpaid practicum at the local Children’s Hospital to lead therapeutic art projects in the pediatric ward.  She is currently enrolled in the Therapeutic Recreation program at Eastern Washington University, and will then secure the national certification for a career in Art Therapy, where she “will help others find the same comfort, healing, and sense of achievement” that she found in art courses.  

The nine finalists – Stephanie Sammons, Sarah Katz, Rebecca Nagurney, Natalie Sabillon, Allen Gomez, Stephanie Dominguez, Gina Valerio, and Derrek Coleman – were selected from thousands of other applicants for their dedication to learning, desire to make a positive impact on the world, and how their incredible stories have helped mold their future career paths.  All the applicants should feel very proud of their noble pursuits.

We want to thank our site visitors and all who voted to help us select a winner.   The support shown through positive comments left for these students affirms both their career paths and the wonderful impact they already have on the lives of others.  

To apply for the next JustJobs Scholarship, visit the scholarship page and check if your school has registered for the program.

[D]uring my sophomore year, I was involved in a terrible automobile accident. I suffered a traumatic brain injury, which changed the course of my life.

Instead, though, I began taking art and theater courses, in which (due to the reduced reading load) I was able to succeed. I discovered that I had some aptitude for art and design, and I eventually worked my way to a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art. Along the way, I met warm, vibrant, lively people — people who helped bring me out of my shell and my depression, many of whom are still my friends today. I began to believe in myself and my capabilities again. 

So I took at huge risk. I quit a job in which I was well-established, and used my savings to return to school. I chipped away at my Psychology prerequisites while nannying to pay the bills. Last January, I began an unpaid practicum at the local Children’s Hospital, leading art projects in the pediatric oncology ward. I was terrified at first — shy, uncertain, dealing with different families and age groups each week — but over the months I’ve become more confident, less self-conscious, more able to focus on the children and their needs.

Most recently, I became a full-time student in Eastern Washington University’s Therapeutic Recreation program. This was a huge undertaking for someone with my history. I’m terrified, at times, of embarking upon a road this mentally challenging and financially daunting, but I know in my heart that it will be worth it at journey’s end.

To obtain a Therapeutic Recreation degree — and then secure the national certification which will enable me to serve others effectively, compassionately, and with confidence — would be the culmination of years of doubt and struggle. It would mean that I’d truly transcended my injury, to become the professional I dream of being.

JustJobs.com’s scholarship program is proud to announce Stephanie Sammons as one of the finalists for its December 2012 application deadline. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), click the ‘star’ just above comments section below, and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

[O]ne of the most influential people in my personal and educational life has been my high school counselor, Mrs. Hackett. She has always been there to guide me and help me figure out what I truly want to do with my life. When I first entered high school, I thought I wanted to be a teacher like my mother and so many other women in my family. I now realize that what I truly want to become is a counselor and advisor. I want to be the person Mrs. Hackett was for me and impact the lives of other students by encouraging them to follow their dreams. 

I believe that everyone in this world deserves to have somebody reminding them that they can do whatever they set their mind to if they are willing to work hard. Growing up, I had a father who never attended college and never saw the importance of pursuing higher education. My expectations for myself were always higher than the expectations he had of me. My mother started college but wasn’t able to finish. Years later, she returned and completed her Bachelor’s degree. My mom has always been the one to push me to reach my goals and has never accepted anything but my best. 

I know that I have always been lucky to have at least one parent supporting me through school. Some students do not have a support system like this at home. This is one of the reasons why I feel like a counselor’s job in the lives of students is so important. Someone needs to be there to fill in and provide the encouragement, knowledge and guidance that many students will not receive from anyone else. We need more Mrs. Hackett’s in the world inspiring kids to reach for the stars and eliminate any doubts they might have about accomplishing their goals. 

I know that upon graduation, I will have everything I need to be successful in the career I have chosen. Consequently, I will be fully equipped to facilitate students with what they need to be successful as they explore their interests and discover their life ambitions. I will go to work every day with a smile on my face, knowing that I am making a difference and doing what I love. I cannot wait to see where my career and passion takes me. I am anxious to see how many students I am able to impact in a huge and positive way.

JustJobs.com’s scholarship program is proud to announce Stephanie Dominguez as one of the finalists for its December 2012 application deadline. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), click the ‘star’ just above comments section below, and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

[I] really want to write and illustrate children’s books.  I think it would be a lot of fun to create a book in not only Spanish and English – which are the two languages that I’m fluent in – but French as well.

I don’t know who will end up reading my children’s books, or who I will reach, but I hope it is somebody who was like me—who is little and doesn’t get to experience all the same things that other little kids experience, but still gets to have fun, and be young.  That’s really what I’m looking forward to doing.

Watch her full video essay below:

JustJobs.com’s scholarship program is proud to announce Natalie Sabillon as one of the finalists for its December 2012 application deadline. Vote for her video essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), click the ‘star’ just above comments section below, and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

[E]ngineering is a field that I have always interested in, even before I knew that it was engineering. As far back as I can remember I enjoyed taking objects in my house apart – the remote control, my Barbie convertible, pretty much anything that had exposed screws, I went after. The curiosity to figure out how things work, and the exponential ability to re-work them to complete new tasks, has forever intrigued me. This curiosity has plagued me since I was young. My parents told me that I studied the way my twin sister threw her weight around in her walker to move, before I even tried to move my own. Once I was confident in the principle of the idea, I took my first walker-assisted steps.

Once I was fully capable of walking on my own, I loved when I could help my dad fix things around the house:  Loose door knobs.  Running toilets.  Broken faucets.  I was not the only beneficiary of my chronic curiosity, at home I was in charge of all of the DVD players, the VCRs, computers, including setting up maintaining, and reminding my mom how to use any of the audio visual equipment. My favorite part was when he let me roam around Sears and play (carefully) with some of the hardware.

Up until recently I took for granted the knowledge that I had accumulated about how things work. It took a failed bike ride for me to realize that the rest of my friends didn’t see gears, chains, and brakes in the same clarity that I understood them. I began to realize that all the things that I loved doing fell into the engineering discipline when I started to study robotics. The mechanics of how all of the different aspects, hardware and software, work together to make a functioning machine continues to thrill me. For me the choice to major in Engineering was made when I stopped reading the instruction manual for assembly required products.

Aside from the obvious obstacles that all engineering students have to over come, a rigorous course load, less time for social activities, pressure to find an internship and co-op to be competitive upon graduation, I have the added obstacle of being a women in a mostly male dominated field. I’ve had to continue overcome this obstacle throughout my life, during my study of robotics, in my engineering classes in high school and college, and in the clubs that I’m in at college, the women are critically outnumbered.

To graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering will mean to me that I will know how to think critically. Not only will I be well versed in physics, and calculus, but I will know how to manage my time, resources, and emotions to be productive.

JustJobs.com’s scholarship program is proud to announce Gina Valerio as one of the finalists for its December 2012 application deadline. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), click the ‘star’ just above comments section below, and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

[M]y high school physics teacher was a young man, one who was very passionate about the subject and helping his students understand how the world works. He brought the science to life by helping us build golf ball cannons, riding a tiny pink tricycle to demonstrate the Doppler effect, and showing us crazy PBS specials on quantum mechanics. He is still one of my role models, and I strive to be a source of knowledge and inspiration like he was.

That is why I aspire to be a science teacher or professor. I see the cycle of ignorance and poverty repeating itself in cities and cultures across the world. It seems to me like education is the single most empowering gift that a child can receive. It opens them up to new options and possibilities and gives them the strength of mind to tackle life’s problems head-on. Being a teacher isn’t just about teaching chemistry, history, or algebra. It’s about supporting these children as they grow up and encouraging them to take care of themselves, their families, and their communities.

In education and all other areas, my main motivation is to make my mother proud. She is a single mother, I am her only child. Seeing her work day in and day out to support us for decades has inspired me to do my best in school and in life. While teaching is rewarding on its own, my primary goal is to be able to give her the emotional, mental, and financial support she deserves.

Ever since that first year of high school physics, I have dreamed of being a part of the physics department at the University of California, Berkeley. In my senior year I applied to UCB with a fairly robust transcript. But no one is guaranteed admission to Berkeley, and I was denied. This led me to accept an offer from Northeastern University, a private institution nestled among dozens of other colleges in Boston, MA.

I surprised myself and my mother with how well I was able to keep up my academic momentum after being uprooted from my network of friends and support. While my grades spoke to my success, the work-hard-party-harder lifestyle was taking its toll on my mind and spirit. After two years of burning myself out, I faced a difficult decision: continue sacrificing my happiness and stability for academic progress, or pack up and take another leap of faith. After careful deliberation, I moved back to Orange County in the summer after my sophomore year. Over the next year I finished up my general education requirements at my local community college and worked part-time to pay the bills.

Today, I am honored to study alongside some of the brightest minds of our generation, learning from the pioneers and intellectual leaders of those who came before us. It was a long and winding path to get here, but one that has shaped me into the person I am today.

JustJobs.com’s scholarship program is proud to announce Derrek Coleman as one of the finalists for its December 2012 application deadline. Vote for his essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), click the ‘star’ just above comments section below, and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

[W]hen most people hear that I have chosen to major in Middle Eastern Studies, they tend to assume that I have family from the Middle East. Indeed, despite having been raised in a culturally Jewish environment, my political interest in the Middle East region also originates from another, entirely different source. For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in solving interpersonal conflicts, on both an individual and grand scale. Subsequently, the politically tumultuous atmosphere of the Middle East caught my eye when I was still in high school. 

The rich history of the Middle East, the region’s relevance to my relatives in Israel, and my upbringing around many Iranians are all aspects which inspired me to major in Middle Eastern Studies and write my thesis on the sociopolitical development of the Iranian Diaspora in California. The first obstacle which I encountered in my major department at Berkeley was the hostility toward Israel and even, to some extent, toward Jews harbored by much of the faculty. This adversity encouraged me to focus my research on an area not directly related to Israel.

Although I enjoyed my research very much, my senior thesis proved the greatest hurdle yet in my academic career. It was not long until I realized that my thesis supervisor was consistently labeling my thesis question as ‘nonsensical’ and my writing style as ‘absurd’, while refusing to provide me a direct response as to how I could improve my work. Soon after, I began consulting with former students of this professor and came to learn that she was, despite her own Jewish background, biased toward Jews. After three months of visits with my professor, I managed to pass the thesis course. Notwithstanding, despite this stressful period in my studies, I have learned so much about the Middle East as well as my own capacity to work relentlessly at a task. 

My experience with bias in grading as well as lecture content inspired me to emphasize my own peaceful intentions on campus. Combining my research focus with my own heritage, I used the current political tensions between Iran and Israel as a means of proving how the issues between authorities do not have to reflect the issues among the masses. I established the Iranian-Israeli Student Coalition, a student organization with the mission of intercultural dialogue between Iranian and Israeli/Jewish students. Following our first event, at which Iranian students risked their families’ safety to associate with Israelis and Jews, I knew for a fact that I wanted to pursue a career in diplomacy. These students’ willingness to rejoice together despite political propaganda was simply remarkable, an incredibly rewarding experience that was made possible primarily because of my choice of major. Therefore, graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Middle Eastern Studies, fluency in two Middle Eastern languages and a hands-on understanding of intercultural mediation, will provide me with the basic skills necessary to begin on the path to a career in Foreign Service.

JustJobs.com’s scholarship program is proud to announce Sarah Katz as one of the finalists for its December 2012 application deadline. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), click the ‘star’ just above comments section below, and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.

[B]efore I started college, I knew that I wanted a degree in the medical field. I went through many surgeries and spent a lot of time in the hospital throughout my childhood. I have spent months between a hospital bed and a wheelchair, and that had put a major strain on my family.

I was diagnosed with hypophosphatemic rickets when I was 2 years old, and I have been a patient at the Alfred I. duPont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington Delaware since then. After seeing and experiencing the amazing work of doctors and medical professionals, I decided that I want to become one of them so that I can help sick children. Being at the hospital many times over the years, I have seen many sick children and I have met some that were not able to go home. I think the procedures and devices that are used and being developed are extraordinary. I want to be a part of the teams that help develop devices and perform procedures that heal and cure the children.

While I was going through my surgeries, I was determined to do well in school. I kept a 4.0 GPA throughout high school and my freshman year of college. I explored many majors offered at PSU and I finally decided on Bioengineering. I did not want to graduate with a degree which would limit my involvement in the medical field. With this degree I am able to go to medical school, pharmacy school, teach, or design medical devices. There are so many opportunities available to me when I graduate.

When I graduate with this degree, not only will I have an amazing career that I will enjoy, but I will also be able to make a difference in the world. If I take the path of becoming a pediatric surgeon, I want to be able to comfort families and their children by letting them know that I have a first-hand experience with what they are going through. Kind, gentle, and compassionate bedside manners were what made my hospital stays bearable for me and my family. If I choose the path of designing medical devices, I would like to design something that would minimize pain and scaring for the patients.

My scars are constant reminders of what I went through. Now, I do not mind them but years ago I was very embarrassed by them. I hope that in the future when I become settled with my career, I can travel to developing countries and provide them with proper medical treatments. I want to make a difference and PSU is helping me do that with their brilliant professors and degree programs. Graduating with a degree in Bioengineering will be the major stepping stone in my life that will help me help others.

JustJobs.com’s scholarship program is proud to announce Rebecca Nagurney as one of the finalists for its December 2012 application deadline. Vote for her essay (Facebook ‘Like’ and other social media sharing options in left column), click the ‘star’ just above comments section below, and/or leave comments of support to help us with the selection process.