Past Scholarship Recipients
2013 Recipients
Ingrid Yovo
I always felt that my purpose was to take full advantage of my life because I do not have the privilege of having financial stability. Since my mother was a single parent struggling from
paycheck to paycheck, my only hope for a steady income for my future was through education. Living in a poor neighborhood filled with violence and a demeanor of lost hope motivated me each day to use education as an instrument for a better future. However, I knew I wanted to dosomething principally for my community being completely derived from my own creation. Before I got ahead of myself, I started small.
After brainstorming for weeks, I finally reached a decision to create a program called Fit
for a Cure, which uses the sport I sacrificed my blood, sweat, and tears for, to give underserved
children a chance to feel the same love for Track & Field as I do. However, I had to find a school
that had an afterschool program in order to be able to recruit children that were already available.
Then I had to create a proposal to persuade the principal to support my program. In addition to
completing many tasks, I found a sufficient afterschool program with students ready to run. It
might have taken an entire summer, an endless amount of phone calls, relentless trips to different
schools, and perpetual determination, but I had completed my aim. Twice a week after school, at
an elementary school, I train students to be active throughout track workouts and teach them how
to live a healthy lifestyle. My program gives them the capability to extend themselves to the next
level and subsequently influences them to find a positive hobby that they can pursue in the
future. I can't guarantee that they will become fully affiliated with the sport, but I am certain that
I have taught them something influential enough to keep them from being a part of the negativity
in the community.
This September when I attend Lafayette College, I plan to become not only a leader in
my community, but also a huge supporter. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be successful
and able to provide an essential contribution to my community. Most importantly, I look forward
to being able to collaborate with existing leaders on campus, for there is still a lot for me to learn.
If chosen, the HESUS Fund will allow me to purchase a much-needed laptop, which is the key to
efficient note-taking in class and extremely helpful in making group study sessions productive.
This scholarship will be a great reinforcement of my dedication and it will further inspire me to
help my community flourish. In addition to the laptop, the $1000 will help pay for basic bills
required to survive at college, and enable me to stay focused on my Engineering degree.
Brandon Smith
I am not immune to struggle. From an early age, I dealt with divorced parents, being sexually abused, being bullied, seeing people killed and receiving a poor education. Despite all these difficulties, I have seen many blessings. The biggest one was attending North Star Academy, a blue ribbon school in Newark which has granted me a stellar education from teachers who cared about me. Because of North Star, I was able to achieve high SAT scores, travel nationally and overseas to Madrid, and build lasting relationships with teachers who wanted to see me succeed in life.
I was also able to serve my school’s community by helping to found the school's Debate Team which competes against suburban schools. As a black male debater, I have the responsibility of not only representing my family and school, but also the African-American community. I also served my school’s community as Senior Leader of the student body this past year. As Senior Leader, I planned many community-engaged projects, like pep rallies and our yearly service day, in which we go out into our local community to help where it is most-needed. North Star has embedded in me the passion to pursue higher education and the commitment to give back to my community. In doing so, North Star prepared me both academically and as a leader for the next phase of my life at one of the top liberal arts schools in the nation: Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
And while I am counting down the days to start school this fall, my financial aid status is still pending. My mother and stepdad have not supported my lifelong dream of going away to school and did not sign the necessary paperwork. Fortunately, the college said it “should be” approved by September and I have a host of support from my father, my school, mentors, and friends who all want me to succeed. If awarded the HESUS scholarship, the funds would help me pay for transportation to school, books, health insurance, and other expenses. I would be honored to be chosen by the HESUS Fund because it would allow me the opportunity to extend my family and to have added encouragement and support that I need. While I do have four years of hard work ahead at Franklin and Marshall, I eagerly await graduating because I know that whatever career I choose, I will use my skills and energy to make sure that there are more schools like North Star to help kids get a top notch education. Education is freedom. If we educate kids early on, we give them the ability to freely fly like birds and shine brightly like stars.
Hubert Lavie
On September 9th 2009, I was given a new start. I had always gone to school in my neighborhood, surrounded by friends trying to become gangsters, but deep down I always knew that I was different. So switching to a new school, on the other side of the Bronx where I didn’t know single person, gave me a chance to show everyone my true self. I had become tired of hearing discouraging stories of failure from people around me. I promised myself that I would not be one of those people; I needed to push myself so others could see what true hard work and dedication gets. I decided to be a role model, but mostly I wanted to encourage others to do the same and be true to themselves
In my new environment, I not only excelled academically, but athletically and socially, as well. As Class President I encourage peer-to-peer aid because of the shortage in teachers. During lunch, afterschool and even at midnight through Skype, I tutored my peers struggling in math until they were able to pass the required regents to graduate. While content with my own success, I received a more fulfilling joy in helping someone else be successful.
I became a Lead Mentor at Youth-Assisting-Youth and helped a group of 18 freshman embrace the responsibilities of transitioning into high school.. I let my mistakes be known so they didn’t have to be relived to be learned from. My mistakes were my teaching points; they helped me relate to and advise my freshmen mentees. I knew that giving back in school wasn’t enough. Through Chess-in-the-Schools, a non-profit college bound program, I created lesson plans and taught a weekly chess class to 20 homeless children in a shelter in Chinatown. I also used that opportunity as an outlet to encourage the children in the shelter to go to college and help eliminate their family’s cycle of poverty. I explained to them that, like me, they could make themselves someone who their younger peers looked up to. I also tried to convince them that the low-income situations we come from don’t have to weaken us, they can make us stronger.
Throughout the course of my life, lack of money has always been a dream killer. All the wonderful experiences I have had were thanks to scholarships or help from other people. I know that if I am selected for the Hesus Fund scholarship, I will be better able to focus on my studies as I pursue my Bachelors Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Specifically, the funds would help me to pay the balance of my tuition, ensuring that I can stay in college and take some of the burden off of my mother, who works overtime five times a week to help me pay for school. When I achieve my goal, I will be able to go back to my neighborhood, and show everyone that, regardless of where we come from, anything is possible. Ultimately, I will feel accomplished when my success has motivated more people to push themselves.