Charles Cheesman's Student Debt Reduction Scholarship

Born and raised in North Philadelphia, I have witnessed generational curses, murders, drug usage, homelessness, criminal violence, and gun violence. It is normalized that seeing such traumatic events is a part of life. Not fully comprehending or suppressing traumatic events only lets rumination occur. I experienced traumatic childhood experiences, such as molestation, being raised in a domestic violence household, and having an incarcerated father. Each one of those things greatly impacted who I am today. As a sexual assault survivor, I know loneliness, shame, and silence feels. I learned the power, worth, and autonomy of my body. Being raised in a domestic violence household, I realized that violence is not an expression of love. Having an incarcerated father taught me how to become responsible, dependable, and self-sufficient to support my mother and brother. All of those things shaped me into the person that I am today. Facing adversities impacted my decisions in education and career goals. My mindset in undergraduate school was: I am fortunate to thrive beyond my obstacles, and I want to assist others in succeeding too. That mindset is continuous in my drive to succeed. In May 2022, I graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Africology and African American studies. After graduating, I decided to explore new opportunities and career paths opened by my new degree. Concluding numerous interviews, I received an offer for a position as a Crisis Advocate at Women Organized Against Rape. My role is to provide support to victims/survivors of sexual assault. I provide check-in calls, medical/ forensic exam accompaniment, group services, and follow-ups. My role is to assist victims/ survivors in getting to the next step of individual trauma counseling. I have grown to love my work and invested in joining the next phase of the victims'/survivors' journey, which is healing and therapy. In August 2023, I am beginning a graduate program to obtain a Master of Science in Community & Trauma Counseling with a concentration in Trauma, Addictions, and Recovery Concentration. There is a demand for more individuals like myself who are willing to be committed, compassionate, and understanding to make a change. I have hope for my community and those who have experienced traumatic and life-changing events like myself. There is redemption in their stories, and their trauma does not have to be the conclusion of their journey. As I embark on my educational journey, I am taking steps toward my career aspirations to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). I want to become an LPC to provide mental health services to individuals, families, and groups in treating trauma, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional problems and disorders. As an LPC, I would give client-centered services rather than primarily illness-centered ones. Ultimately the goal would be to have healthy and sustainable individuals by addressing their mental health and trauma. I would step toward financial security by obtaining Charles Cheesman's Student Debt Reduction Scholarship. As I embark on my graduate school journey, I will work as a full-time student and Crisis Advocate. With the scholarship, I could use saved money to satisfy a financial need: books, supplies, or tuition. Also, with the saved money, I advance financially in my savings, checking, and investing accounts. Ultimately, it would support me in becoming financially secure.

My name is Heidi Cervantes, and I am currently a full-time Research Scientist for the Department of Molecular Pathobiology at New York University (NYU). Before starting my current employment, I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Forensic Science at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN in 2021. During my time there, I worked as a Research Technician for the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research (PCCR) for all four years where I worked on developing and performing multidisciplinary therapeutic cancer studies in mice. Working here allowed me to gain significant hands-on experience and insight into the complex topics of the coursework I was pursuing. Before the start of my junior year, I also started working for the Purdue Davidson School of Chemical Engineering as a Science Communication Assistant where I disseminated school related scientific news through photography, writing, video, and other multimedia assets. Upon graduating, I started my employment at NYU working in an academic research laboratory. Here, I research Slit3, a protein necessary for regulating the function of brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and its subsequent effects of ameliorating obesity-induced diabetes. I'm very proud of the work that I am doing as it has the ability to positively impact the 11.3% of US population that suffers from diabetes. Although I love my job and its potential to make a real impact in the scientific community, I don't want to stop here. I plan on pursuing a master’s degree in Recombinant DNA Technology through the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Sciences concurrently with my employment. Working for NYU allows me to obtain my master’s degree debt free as I continue working full time. Although pursuing this degree in two years while working full time is ambitious, I’m confident in my ability to do so as it brings me closer to my dream job working for the US Government through biological research where I will be able to make a difference in how our government works by influencing policy related to environmental and biological issues. Being debt free while pursuing higher education I will allow me to make this dream my reality. Working two jobs while being a full-time first-generation student was very challenging and required a lot of self-discipline, but doing so allowed me to pay off one of high interest private loans. However, even after paying off one of my loans, I’m still left with $40,000 of debt, both privately and federally held, which I continue to chip away at to combat compound interest. After rent, student loan repayment is my largest expense which prevents me from saving more money than I would like. Growing up in the lower class as an only child with a single mom, money was never a guarantee and was a constant stressor in my mom’s life. As an adult, I hope to actively pursue a better financial future for myself. It’s increasingly vital in today’s economy to have an emergency savings in case of unplanned expenses, by paying down my student loan debt, I would be able to save more rigorously to ensure I’m protected in the event I need it. I would also be able to reallocate that money to put more towards the rest of my student loans so that I can live a debt free future faster. Being debt free opens numerous doors and relieves a substantial amount of stress allowing myself the opportunity to start the next phase of my life and start planning for what is truly important.

As an African American female physician assistant student, this scholarship would help me to continue my studies. Personally, diversity in medicine is important as a future healthcare provider because each patient is unique. The recognition of our differences including race, class, gender, and religious beliefs provides a holistic approach to patient care. Diversity brings new ideas and varying perspectives, which in turn, creates opportunities for challenges to be approached from new angles. I am currently a second-year Physician Assistant (PA) student on my journey to becoming a primary care family medicine provider in low-income communities. The role of the PA is a collaborative and supportive role. PA's help aid in bridging gaps in medicine by increasing access to healthcare for populations most in need. In order to bridge these gaps in providing care, a health care provider must be active and aware of the challenges patients face based on their demographics and community. This allows for a provider-to-patient relationship while creating opportunities to help educate the community on how to stay healthy. As an African American female and first-generation college student, representation through diversity and equality in medicine are topics that I am truly passionate about. Working in healthcare through the COVID-19 pandemic has taught me how to be able to relate and understand patient needs and enabled me to better provide an array of services to better help them, and I’m grateful to be a part of aiding in the solution. My passion has been to meet the needs of patients since COVID-19 cases started to rise. It is important that patients continue to have access to and remain compliant on the use of their maintenance drugs for chronic diseases during social distancing. I have seen that prescription delivery options have helped patients stay compliant so that they wouldn’t have to leave the comfort of their homes. Additionally through my telemedicine doctor visits online training in PA school I have gained an appreciation for 24/7 helplines for our patients to call in with clinical questions to help indicate telltale signs of what warrants an emergency room visit. Our PA problem has also been effective in our curricula by learning the importance of communication with our patients to help reduce healthcare disparities within our communities by starting to address certain stigmas. In doing so we can help our patients be more informed about COVID-19. During this pandemic, I have reflected on my own family members, especially the elderly who are immunocompromised and have a hard time getting around. Despite troubling times, it has been nice to know that there have been services implemented and dedicated to making life a little bit easier. For example, my paternal grandmother who lives in Virginia has a hard time traveling by herself due to health issues, the realization that her healthcare providers and local pharmacy make sure that she has a consistent full supply of medication without her having to leave the comfort of her home has been a huge relief. My grandmother has been battling cancer for over 20 years and she is one of the reasons I chose this journey as a PA student. Working in healthcare during this time allows us to be able to provide our patients with options when it seemed as though options were nonexistent due to social distancing. Upon graduation of PA school, I believe I can bring the importance of community service outreach to help better the quality of life of patients by knowing the importance of creating options and alternatives during troubling situations.

My name is Edward Trejo, and I'm 24 years old and from El Paso, Texas. Being from one of the country's largest border cities and having one of the greatest Hispanic populations. My father is originally from Juarez, Mexico, and my mother is from Georgia State. I adore reading literature from many sources, such as books, journals, and so on. I also have a strong interest in science, notably biochemistry, and knowing how life works fascinates me. I have unique problems, such as my unilateral deafness on my left side from birth and my tiny red blood cell size. Loud noises and vigorous activities have physically tested me since the time I became aware of myself. However, it hasn't kept me down from my long walks and short sprints daily. I continue to live my life as fully as possible without letting disabilities keep me down. In my educational pursuits, I first started in a 4-year program of Pre-engineering in high school, followed by one year of Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso. I switched from engineering, however, to biochemistry my major instead. Coming this Spring 2023, rather quite soon, I will be graduating with a BS in Cellular and Molecular Biochemistry with Honors. My education however is not done yet, as I have been accepted into a doctorate program in Pharmacy starting in Fall 2023. I'm quite excited to start my career as a Pharmacist and likely afterward to join academic research, once I'm satisfied with clinical experience. Over the course of my life, I want to eventually become a top authority in the field of pharmaceuticals, leading to cheaper and more effective drug therapies and treatments as the field advances. For my local community, I participated in volunteer work with the University early on, during my freshman year as I knew what I wanted to do with my life after witnessing the effects of narcotic abuse here. Being the major port of entry for illegal drugs and the lasting effects they cause on users and their families is heartbreaking. Free local checkups and local food drives have been the two main activities I have participated in. Once I get my license, I fully intend to give back in the form of hosting sessions for public drug information and collaborating with practicing mds. My major accomplishments are certainly more personal however I believe it has merit. As I mentioned earlier, I am graduating with honors (>3.5 GPA) and worked in my last two semesters in one of my professors' labs studying giardia lamblia and the development of non-toxic and non-resistant drug combinations for both uses in humans and animals. The paper is still under review and going through revisions at the current time. Graduate school will not be cheap, and I have outstanding debts already with federal loans. In the case, I can save some money from repayment I would do a few things. I would save for the future: Putting the extra money into a savings account/emergency fund for any foreseeable accidents. Additionally, I would plan for long-term goals like purchasing a house or plan for ahead in retirement. Paying off other debt faster is a more likely option to be debt-free as soon as possible to save on interest payments. Lastly, I would like to use the money to do some activities with my family such as a small trip or donate it locally here. Thank you for reading my short biography and I hope that you and your family have continued great health!

I have always aspired to be a judge growing up because I loved to see how much a change these leaders make in a community. I come from Brooklyn, NY where crime is at an all-time high and I have always strived to go a separate route. There are many hardships that I've faced on a daily basis to defer me from greatness. Some were the lack of resources at my school and others were the excessive amount of gang and gun violence I had to work through. I feel that seeing the outcome of the individuals in my community has often left me discouraged with no hope. One day, it dawned upon me that mental illness is a huge factor in the failure of my community and I have to do something about it. Especially since I've watched my mother combat depression growing up. I will eventually become a Forensic Psychiatrist in the future regardless of how long it may take me. Luckily, I have always been a strong individual and I never let anything come in the way of my success. I was determined enough to manage to receive an Associate's Degree at age 17 before my high school diploma. While juggling between high school and college classes, I also made time to give back to my community. During the start of Covid-19 up until my graduation, I was dedicated to tutoring children who needed the extra help but couldn't afford it. I would help children with their homework and broke down difficult topics. I assisted my local NYPD Community Center by handing out masks to people in my community and informed them on how to stay Covid-Free. In addition to that, I helped out at the pantry that my grandmother's church hosted in order to give back essentials during a great time of need. Since I knew paying for college was going to be a determining factor in my success, I did everything in my power to save my mother from expenses. Unfortunately, after receiving all the scholarships that I could have possibly received, I still ended up in debt of about $25,000. Due to this, I have decided that I will have to defer from my education and transfer to a SUNY school so that I can lessen any future debt. With the money I save by paying down my student loans, I will save as much as I can in order to invest in medical school. Hopefully, by then I will find some way to pay it off but if not, I will work as hard as I can to take borrow the least amount of money. I have discovered a program that SUNY offers for pre-med students like myself. I hope to be admitted so that I can have the highest chance of someday getting into med school and pursuing my career. As, of right now, I am very proud of all I have accomplished at the age of 18 and I am sure there is more to come.

My name is Roland Davis and I am attending The University of Texas at Austin studying Finance with a certification in Computer Science. I am involved in several organizations on campus ranging from the University Chess Team, Heman Sweatt Center for Black Males, founded an investing group, co-founded an NFT project, and am currently en route to joining a fraternity. I try to keep myself occupied around campus but things will start to slow down soon when I begin my Spring 2022 internship at a tech startup here in Austin. I'm a first-generation student and an only child, so everything that I've endured and found out in the last 3-4ish years about college, internships, resumes, interview processes, etc, has been on my own accord. I wouldn't have even been able to attend college at all if I hadn't received scholarships in high school, so I've paved the way for myself and am thankful that I've made it this far. I set a goal my freshmen year in college to graduate with a 3.80+ GPA and as I ease into my senior year with a ~3.71, I'm gonna do the best I can to finish near my goal. And with that academic goal, I've also made goals to be more extroverted to an extent/social, construct better study habits (has improved greatly since high school), and just try to let a good number of people see and experience who I am as a person in, arguably, the most interactive time of my life. I aspire to live a life that no one in my family has built for themselves yet and hope to make my parents and most importantly, myself, proud of everything that comes with that. I plan to graduate with my degree next year, work in banking, start aggressively investing, and start to financially stabilize myself at a young age. This scholarship would help me start reaching my financial goals while I am still in school, which is something I never thought would be possible. Being presented with a scholarship of this magnitude would allow me to start paying my loans off immediately and pay off a huge portion before I graduate next year. I know how interest works on loans, how people are still paying them off in their mid to late years of life, how it sometimes takes years before people even start touching their principal balance, etc. I've always hated loans with a passion and every time I think of them my mind always wanders back to the times I had with my dad my freshman year in high school. I would always ask him how I was going to pay for college, and loans were his solution always. This constantly frustrated me and forced me to fund my schooling myself by either saving or acquiring scholarships, and that's exactly what I pushed myself to do. If I were presented with this scholarship and able to save a bit of my money, I would definitely just use it to stock up on food/pay rent a lot faster monthly, help my family, and invest whatever is remaining. Being a finance major, I've gradually let personal finance, investing, and financial literacy, in general, consume my life -- all for the best of course. This scholarship would allow me to prioritize and fixate attention on the things in life that matter to me the most: family, health, and finances. I think everyone deserves to have those three areas stable in their life and this aid would be the first step in touching these areas for me in a major way.