Karen Scavelli Strength Through Adversity Scholarship

My mom, Karen Scavelli, was the most caring, fun and involved mom in the world. Nobody ever went hungry with her around, not even the neighborhood raccoons. She was the kind of mom who didn't just send us outside to play in the backyard, she came out there with us and did flips on the trampoline. She didn't just watch us go on rides at the amusement park, she was right there in the front row with us. She quickly became "mom" to all of our friends too, always there to listen without judgement and provide her unwavering support, just like she did for us. She loved animals. We had several dogs and cats growing up that were completely spoiled. She was always rescuing strays or giving them a nice warm safe place to sleep and eat. One time she stopped traffic on a highway just to make sure nobody hit a family of geese that was crossing the road. She valued education and actually went back to school several times. She loved psychology, archeology, and science. So much, in fact, that our shower curtain was the periodic table. She loved studying the mind and carried around a pocket sized DSM with her. She was such a compassionate and loving person who had a wide variety of interests, and would've done anything for anybody.