Vernardo Book Scholarship

When I was accepted to a four-year private university as a first-generation, low-income student from the South Side of Chicago, I had no idea I would need to buy my own books — something I simply couldn’t afford. Needing just $500 for textbooks nearly derailed my entire undergraduate journey. But through sacrifice and persistence, I moved forward, and education has carried me to places I never expected. Today, I am working toward my doctorate, a milestone that reflects not only my determination but the foundation built by the strong women who came before me. This scholarship honors my grandmother, Helen Vernardo, who moved to Chicago during the Great Migration in search of a better life, and my mother, Pamela Vernardo, who instilled in all of her children the belief that education was the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Their sacrifices and values shaped my path. I am creating the Vernardo Book Scholarship to support a student like me — a first-generation, Pell-eligible, underrepresented minority from the South Side of Chicago, a Chicago Public Schools graduate attending a four-year university. My goal is to remove the financial barriers that too often block students with exceptional potential. I want my legacy as an educator to include helping someone from my community pay for their books so their life, too, can be transformed through education. This scholarship is not just in my name — it carries the names, sacrifices, and hopes of Helen and Pamela Vernardo, whose belief in education opened the door for me and, I hope, for many more.