Ariel Hawks-Feldman

Dear Polsky Family Trust members, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for being chosen as a recipient of the Jessica Dahl Nurses with Chutzpah Scholarship. It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized in the spirit of Jessica Dahl. I’m glad to have learned about Jessica through this award, and I hope to carry forward her legacy as I continue my journey in nursing. Your support helps ease the financial demands of my studies at Yale as I work toward becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Relieving this burden allows me to focus on developing integrative mental health solutions for communities that are often overlooked, especially those facing the complex challenges of rural and remote living. Your generosity inspires me to serve underserved areas and to find new ways of healing that combine clinical expertise with community wisdom. I firmly believe that everyone should have access to compassionate, skilled providers, regardless of where they live or the challenges they face. Your generosity doesn’t simply lighten the financial load; it emboldens me to serve in underserved areas and to explore new ways of healing that bridge clinical knowledge and the wisdom of community. Your support affirms my commitment to these values and encourages me to pursue a more equitable healthcare future. Thank you for investing in students like me and for supporting a future where care is accessible, equitable, and rooted in deep humanity. Your kindness truly makes a difference, inspiring me to carry these values forward and to continue supporting students pursuing meaningful careers. Thank you, Ariel Hawks-Feldman

Amanda VanStratum

Dear Members of the Nurses with Chutzpah Scholarship Committee, Thank you so much for awarding me the Jessica Dahl Nurses with Chutzpah Scholarship. I am deeply honored and profoundly grateful for your generosity and belief in my journey as a nurse and future nurse practitioner. This scholarship means more to me than financial support. It is a reminder of the importance of continuing to shine our light as Jewish people, even, and especially, when the world around us feels heavy and resistant to that light. Throughout history, we have endured, rebuilt, and contributed to the healing of the world, not by dimming who we are, but by standing firmly by belief in the Name and in our values of compassion, justice, learning, and service. As nurses, we are called to bring light into places of vulnerability, fear, and uncertainty. To be recognized within a community that understands the power of encouragement and shared strength is deeply affirming. When we uplift one another, our individual lights do not merely add together, they amplify exponentially, pushing back darkness and creating hope where it is most needed. I carry this encouragement with me as I continue my education and clinical work, committed to serving others with skill, empathy, and courage. Thank you for investing in Jewish nurses who are striving to make the world healthier, kinder, and more just. With sincere appreciation, Amanda VanStratum

Yisroel Giro

Dear Polsky Family Trust, I'm incredibly grateful to be chosen as the recipient of the Jessica Dahl Nurses with Chutzpah Scholarship. It means so much to me to be recognized for my dedication to this path, and I'm honored to carry on Jessica Dahl's legacy through this scholarship. This generous support truly lifts a heavy weight from my shoulders and allows me to focus on the intensive studies and clinical work required to become the nurse I aspire to be. With less worry about finances, I can devote more energy to learning the skills and compassion that nursing demands. After losing my mother, I experienced firsthand the profound impact that nurses can have on families during their most vulnerable times. That experience drives me every day. I want to be the nurse who offers comfort, strength, and hope—someone patients and families can truly count on. I deeply appreciate your commitment to helping students overcome the financial barriers to serving in healthcare fields. Your vision for making medical professionals accessible to all communities, regardless of economics, is inspiring and motivates me to consider how I can contribute to underserved areas in the future. Thank you for your incredible kindness and belief in my journey. Your support brings me closer to making a lasting difference for others, just as Jessica Dahl did. Thank you, Yisroel Giro

Rose Richmann

Dear Polsky Family, I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for awarding me this scholarship. Knowing that your family chose to invest in me is both humbling and deeply meaningful. Your faith in my journey has given me more than financial support—it has given me encouragement at a time when it is truly needed. Pursuing advanced education comes with an enormous weight, and student debt has been one of the heaviest parts of that burden. Your generosity has eased that pressure in a very real way. It allows me to focus more fully on my education, my patients, and the work I feel called to do, rather than constantly worrying about how to keep up financially. More than anything, your kindness reminds me why I chose this path. I have been the recipient of grace at critical moments in my life, and each time it strengthened my resolve to one day do the same for someone else. Your gift reinforces my commitment to serve others with compassion and to pass along the same generosity and belief that you have shown me. Thank you for trusting me, for believing in my future, and for helping make this chapter of my education possible. I carry your kindness with me as motivation to work harder, give more, and eventually extend the same support to others who are still finding their footing. With sincere gratitude,

Miguel Aristizabal Torres

Dear Polsky Family Trust, I am deeply honored and sincerely grateful to be selected as a recipient of the Doctors in the Boondocks Scholarship. Your generous support not only lightens the financial burden that accompanies medical training, but also reaffirms my commitment to serving communities with limited access to care. As a physician-in-training and immigrant committed to practicing medicine in underserved areas, this award is more than financial help; it is encouragement and empowerment. Thank you for investing in my future and in the future of the patients I will serve. With gratitude,

Malika Adams

Dear Polsky Family Trust, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for selecting me as a recipient of The Doctors in the Boondocks scholarship. I am overjoyed with excitement and deeply honored to receive this generous support. This funding will significantly help me pay down my student loan debt and ease the financial burden I carry as I continue my medical journey as a now hospice and palliative medicine fellow. Your contribution helps support me financially, and it also serves as a profound encouragement to keep striving toward my goals. Thank you for your investment in my future. I am truly inspired by your commitment to uplifting healthcare professionals. I look forward to using my education and training to make a meaningful and lasting impact in my community and beyond. Many thanks and much appreciation!