Nursing, counseling, mental health, social work, etc.
Education Level:
State:
Major:
Undergraduate
Missouri
Nursing, counseling, mental health, social work, etc.
David L. Burns was a beloved son who died of an opioid overdose in December of 2019.
As a way of honoring the memory of David L. Burns, this scholarship will support students in Missouri who seek to help people who have struggled with addiction. Students who are entering a field that can help people in their times of crisis can apply. These fields could be nursing, counseling/mental health, social work, or other similar careers.
The David L. Burns Memorial Scholarship is designed to support anyone who has shown a desire and ability to help others and make other people’s lives better.
Undergraduate students from Missouri are eligible to apply if their career seeks to help others who have battled addiction.
In your application, write about why you find it important to help those who are struggling with addiction and how you will use your career to do so.
Addiction nearly stole everything from me — my health, my family, my future. For 15 years, I battled substance use and the mental health challenges that come with it. I lost my brother and several close friends to addiction, and I’ve seen firsthand how deeply it can tear apart lives and communities. But through years of hard work, support, and grace, I’ve been clean for five years. That experience changed me forever, and today, helping others who struggle with addiction is not just my calling — it’s my purpose.
I currently serve as a certified peer support specialist, working with individuals who are navigating their own recovery journeys. I’ve worked with drug court, probation and parole, family court, and now serve with the mobile crisis team and 988 hotline through Burrell Behavioral Health. Every day, I bring hope and lived experience into spaces where people often feel unseen, misunderstood, or judged. I know what it feels like to be there — to be hopeless, to believe change is impossible. And I also know what it feels like to be supported, to have someone believe in me until I could believe in myself. That’s the kind of support I now give to others.
Helping people overcome addiction is deeply personal to me. When someone shares their pain, their story, their desire to change, I see a piece of myself in them. I never want another person to feel alone in their battle. I want them to know that healing is possible — not just survival, but full, meaningful recovery. That’s why this work matters so much to me.
I’m currently pursuing my bachelor’s degree in psychology at Columbia College. My long-term goal is to earn my master’s degree and become a licensed therapist, specializing in addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders. I want to combine my lived experience with clinical training so I can provide comprehensive support to people in recovery. I want to be able to meet people wherever they are — whether in crisis, in early recovery, or years into sobriety — and offer tools, therapy, and encouragement that meet their unique needs.
Addiction doesn’t discriminate — it affects people from all walks of life. But with the right support and access to care, recovery is possible. I’ve lived that truth, and I’m committed to using my life and my career to share it. Every person I help is a reminder of why I’m here and why this path matters. If I can be even a small part of someone’s transformation — the way others were for me — then every hardship I went through will have had a purpose.
This scholarship will help me continue my education and expand my ability to serve others. I believe healing is contagious, and with the right training and heart, I can help spread it — one life at a time.
I have dealt with addiction my entire life. Most of my cousins are on the streets, homeless, addicted to heroin, methamphetamine, crack cocaine, opioids, or some combination of these and more. I have watched them from a young child turn from family members I relished memories of playing the GameBoy and watching cartoons on our grandparent's couch after school into ghosts of what they once were. They all started families young with other people addicted to drugs and this led to them throwing away the lives of a future generation of children who won’t know true innocence or a real family.
When I was two years old my parents divorced and my brother and myself were in between split households for the majority of our childhood. My father was an abusive alcoholic and continued to be until I was seventeen years old and when he kicked me out of the house one night after he came home from the bar intoxicated. I jumped from couch to couch until I landed at my mother's for the remainder of my short-lived, covid plagued, senior year. I raised myself and built up my life from rock bottom.
My interest in health care started when I watched my mother start her dream as a nurse at forty-five years old after she retired from the Army. I saw what she did and listened to the stories she told me about her experiences joining the medical field. I started working at Mosaic Life Care about a year and a half ago as a PCA. Working virtually on the bottom of the food chain I have an appreciation for what LPNs, RNs, MDs, Analysts, Financial services, and various other positions I work with on a day-to-day basis that makes Mosaic, as a whole, run smoothly and efficiently.
My position has lent me the opportunity to see quite a lot on the floor as Saint Joseph has a large percentage of drug addiction and drug-related crimes. As a person who has been around and has personally experienced addiction of all kinds I always strive to talk to my patients who fall in this category and connect with them on a personal and professional basis. With coming into the nursing program I look to the future on how I can best guide and help people who don’t have a support system or who may have one but just need a helping hand and ears to listen. I am going to use my degree after I graduate as a tool to use what I have to help people who oftentimes think they don’t need help or who can’t help themselves as they are blinded by the pains and pleasures of addiction.
This essay is not written with just the purpose of receiving a scholarship, I would rather speak from the heart than speak as a robot who just wants someone to pay for their college. Regardless of whether I am chosen as the winner or not I want to thank you for the opportunity of consideration. This topic is near and dear to my self and who I am today and I will continue to currently help others in all walks of life and look forward to having my nursing degree so I can help patients with addiction in much more depth than before.
The application deadline is Aug 30, 2025. Winners will be announced on Sep 30, 2025.
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What is the scholarship award?
Award amounts per winner are designated by the donor. Check the award amount for a detailed breakdown.
When will the scholarship winner be chosen? How will they be notified?
The winner will be publicly announced on Sep 30, 2025. Prior to the announcement date, we may contact finalists with additional questions about their application. We will work with donors to review all applications according to the scholarship criteria. Winners will be chosen based on the merit of their application.
How will the scholarship award be paid?
Award checks will be sent to the financial aid office of the winner's academic institution in their name to be applied to their tuition, and in the name of their institution (depending on the school's requirements). If the award is for a qualified educational non-tuition expense, we will work with the winner directly to distribute the award and make sure it goes towards qualified expenses.
How will my scholarship application be verified?
Before we award the scholarship, the winner will be required to confirm their academic enrollment status. Depending on the circumstances, verification of Student ID and/or their most recent transcript will be required.
How should I get in touch with questions?
If you have any questions about this scholarship or the Bold.org platform, just email contact@bold.org and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.
Does the scholarship have terms and conditions?
Yes. The terms and conditions for this scholarship can be found here.