2019 Scholars
GOAL: My dream has always been to study architecture and engineering at college.
As a child in Tehran, I experienced earthquakes and I have witnessed how destructive they can be. With my architecture and engineering studies, I hope to design earthquake-proof buildings to save lives around the world. This has been a lifelong goal of mine to earn a good reputation by saving lives through innovative architectural solutions.
GOAL: It is my hope to be a surgeon and help make people’s lives better.
In Iran, I worked very diligently as a student; however, as a female, my opportunities were limited. Even with a college education, it can be difficult for a woman to get a job. In order to receive the best education possible, I moved to the United States, rapidly learned a new language, and adapted to a different educational system. Learning English and taking difficult courses helped me to become a stronger and more confident student. Now I feel prepared to take on any challenge that comes my way, and I look forward to the exciting years ahead at college and then medical school.
The deaths of two such impactful and important people in my life, especially my dad, changed my life forever. And though I truly wish that none of those things had happened, I have grown from them in ways I couldn’t have any other way. Those events allowed me to see the things in life that really matter: my faith, family, and the people and community around me. The type of person I have desired to be over the last four years: loving, caring, and intensely devoted to the people around me. As the examples of my father and Coach Schultz have been to me, I hope to be to those around me: spurring others on to acts of love and good deeds, even in the midst of hardships.
GOAL: Start a nonprofit organization that mentors minority students to help them get a higher education.
I desire to use my education to help others students to receive a college education in the future. I was recently inspired by big time basketball player, Kevin Durant. He made a center in his hometown to help students have a better chance of getting into college by providing financial and social-emotional resources. I grew up in a very fortunate environment with great opportunities. Sadly, not everyone gets to receive the blessings I have received in my life, therefore it is my mission to help those in impoverished neighborhoods who do not normally go off to college.
GOAL: To become a dentist
I am ecstatic about my future and feel that with the opportunity your scholarship can provide, I can make people smile. My love for dentistry was initiated from my friends and family, I have had the opportunity to volunteer and shadow at a friend’s dentistry business, and it ignited a passion within me to start my own business. It is because of my strong work ethic and the Madison community that I was raised in, that I am who I am today.
GOAL: To work in the engineering world, possibly with the military.
In Northern Virginia, there is a lot of pressure to excel academically and spend all my time focusing on school and grades, but I have tried to balance my schedule and work load to focus on what is most important to me: growing in my friendships with others, expanding my faith and serving others.
GOAL: To learn as much as I can in college and seek a job in a federal forensic laboratory.
I have worked hard in school and need the scholarship to relieve the weight of college debt on my family. My mother is a strong woman who doesn’t need my weight to carry along with hers. I wish to graduate from college in a few years, something she didn’t have the opportunity to do, and make her proud and realize that her hard work isn’t something that has gone to waste.
