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Dear Joseph Drown Foundation,
I do not have enough words to express the gratitude I hold toward your foundation
and those that make the Partnership Scholars program possible. This program has
been a foundation upon which I have grown and developed as a student and a catalyst
for success not only through my years at Lennox Middle School but through my
four years at Hawthorne High School. The support-not only monetary but emotionally
from mentors who have demonstrated unconditional love and guidance- has been
more significant than words could say. I have done more with the guidance of
mentors and the support from you and this scholarship than anything that I could
have dreamed of.
This scholarship took me from a shy and quiet seventh grader to a poised and
confident senior. The trips I took with my mentor were elemental in showing me
a different world, a world where graffiti didn't loom in the distance and where
success was possible. Mrs. Wallis showed me a world where I didn't have to remain
in the same place, where I could grow as a person-it was a world I wanted to
be a part of. With knowledge of what was possible, I came into high school ready
to learn but without solid expectations. I took every opportunity I could and
with the confidence I had garnered through the scholarship and by the simple
fact that I had won it, my expectations slowly reached higher and higher proportions
as each year went by. I applied to programs like the Math and Science Upward
Bound and was accepted; I did things and applied for things I didn't think I
could accomplish. I did my best to help my community and participated in an endless
number of clubs, distancing myself from the black hole of the neighborhood I
grew up in where young people were caught in the violence and dangers of my town.
I daringly applied to Harvard early action and through what I had done for my
community and myself along with my personal experiences I was accepted. I owe
this to those who helped me before I became one of the leaders of my school,
when I was a sixth grader taking a chance to apply for a program that didn't
seem possible for me. I owe any success that I could state as my own to the people
who saw the potential in me before I even realized I had it. I want to thank
you for giving a twelve-year-old a chance. I know that your money could go to
anything else but the power that this scholarship holds is incredible. In my
own experience, just the fact that someone believed I could succeed and gave
me the monetary support is surreal. I come from a place where achievements are
little and people are in the dark of what they could do. They remain in the same
place for all their lives and do little to improve their future. Visionaries
such as those in your foundation are capable of taking those kids who see no
hope in their lives, who are surrounded by negativity , to change their paths.
People like those in your foundation are a candle in the darkness, you give people
hope that they can achieve more than what is expected of them-in most cases nothing.
You have not only given me hope but a sense of duty to do as much as I can to
pay you back, not monetarily but through myactions. I want to let those that
helped me when I didn't understand what I could accomplish know that they have
made a difference in someone's life.
As I go from Lennox, California to Cambridge, Massachusetts I understand how
much this scholarship changed who I was and how I perceived myself. I'm on my
way to college and as much as I have helped myself and done as much as I can,
my family is still not as financially secure as we would want. The laptop I received
has been a blessing. I will need one this fall and to have received one from
the scholarship you are a part of has lessened the burden of my parents who work
day and night to support my family. As amazing as the opportunity to go to Harvard
is, it is still financially difficult.
The flights to and from Boston and the expenses such as books and winter gear
will not be easy to finance, my new laptop is a source of constant relief. Thank
you once again for the opportunities I have received from your support--monetarily,
emotionally and everything else in between. It is people like you who truly make
this world a better place. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, what you have
done for me is beyond words.
Sincerely and with gratitude,
Maryell Hernandez
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