LUCASDA SILVA UPPERCAPETECH JESSIE DLABAJ

Hello,my nameisLucasEduardodaSilva,I'm BrazilianandI'm19 yearsold I graduatedfrom highschool andtoday thankstothisprogram, andthankstoGod,I haveagreat opportunity tobestudyingelectricity I amalsoworkingin thesameareawhereI study Duringthefall I wasstudyinginthecourse,runby excellent professionals,whotakeusto livethe experienceanddemonstrateimportanceand concernfor our learning,and therespect that existswithinthefield Thiscourseisvery applaudedbecausewearelikebrothersand sisterssharingthesamedesireand intensity to learn It isimportant toremember that yes, studiesaretiring,but I speak withauthority that it isthetiringstudiesthat will takeyouto morechallenginglevelsandwithbigger rewards,andnowadaysI canseehow beneficial studyingand mainly doingwhat I lovehasbeenfor me. Sothank youvery much for believinginmy pathandthank youvery muchMVYouthfor all your support inthis important moment for my future,andthat you continuetohelpother peoplelikemeso that they don't giveupontheir future

Clemson University

Myfirst semester at Clemsonwent by inablur It waschallengingandrewarding,yet it exceeded all of my expectations Thissummer,my family andI movedfromMartha?sVineyardto Charleston,SouthCarolinaaweek after high school graduation Shortly after,I movedinto collegeaweek earlier thanmost sinceI wasgoing throughthesororityrecruitment process I was abletomeet many new people,includingseveral frommy dorm I optedtoliveinaSTEM community livingcenter,whichmeanseveryone inmy buildingisaSTEM major Thishasallowed meto meet new friendswhosharemy same interest and work ethic Immersingmyself inthis populationhasalsobroadenedmy knowledgeof STEM majorsandprofessions Therearemany that havepiquedmy interest andI look forward tolearningmoreabout avariety of fields, includingthemedical and engineeringfield Currently,my major isBiological Sciences My workloadthispast semester wasmoderately heavyand challenging Themost challenging aspect wastakingChemistryand Biology simultaneously.Fromthisexperience,I have learnedtheimportanceof timemanagement and strongstudy habits Whileit wasquitedifficult,it wasalsoextremely rewarding I havethoroughly enjoyedmy experienceat Clemsonthisfall, includingbeingpart of suchalargeanddiverse community Despitethelargesizeof thecampus andnumber of students,I havetruly beenableto feel at homeat Clemson I amlookingforward to next semester,whereI hopetoget moreinvolved inthecommunity andexploremorecareer paths andmajors All of theseexperienceswouldnot be possiblewithout theMVYouthScholarship I am extremely grateful for thisopportunity and the many thingsI havelearnedalongtheway Thank youfor thesupport and investment inmy future

Kathleen Dos Santos

TONI & GUY HAIRDRESSING ACADEMY

Thepast few monthsat Toni&Guy havebeenlife changing I havebeenabletogrow not only asa personbut alsoasahairstylist I?vebeenlovingbeing abletoexpressmy creativityhere,improvemy skills that I alreadyhave,andbeingabletolearnnew techniques I canserviceclientsat theschool,giveout hair cuts,andstyleouts.SoonI?ll beallowedtodo color onclients WhenI don? t haveaclient,I?mgiving my mannequinsanew hairstyleeveryday Asa full-timestudent,somedayshavebeenharder than others,but I?vehadthebest peersand teachers supportingmeandhelpingmeget throughit.I lovethe staff fromToni & Guy,asthey havebeensohelpful in helpingmelearnnew thingsandimproveintheskills that I alreadyhad They?veshownmewhat I?vebeen doingwrong,taught mehow tofixthosemistakesand how toavoidmakingtheminthefuture.They?vealso taught metoseemistakesinother people?shair and how tofixthem

Sincethereisn? t acampusat theschool,I?vebeen livinginanapartment Tryingtoadapt tocity livinghas beenaninterestingexperience,but I?vebeenenjoying learninghow tonavigatetheworld onmy own ThoughI will say that livingonmy ownhasbeen difficult.Not havingroommatesor my parentsaround hasbeenvery different for me I?mused toalways havingpeoplearound ThoughI havebeenlovingthis timetomyself,it?shelpedmefocusand makesureI stay ontopof my work WhenI can,I gohometo Martha?sVineyardandvisit my family andsome weekendsI work at Maggie?sSalon.I?mvery grateful for Maggieandthegirlsfor teachingmeafew tipsand tricksbeforeI went toschool Most of all I amvery thankful for MVYouthfor supportingme Thank you for givingmethisopportunity I amnow onestep closer toachievingmy dream.

Sam Fetters Amherst College

If there?sonewordI couldusetodescribemy first semester,it would beadventure.Andfromclasses, tocommunity,tocommuting,I?vebeenexposedto new experiences,new people,andnew perspectives Studentsand faculty hail fromacrosstheglobe,and I?vemet peoplefromSouthKorea,Spain, Bangladesh,Ukraine,and evenmainlandChina.In fact,Amherst boastsstudentsfromover fifty-eight countries!

Myfirst year seminar,DemocraticBacksliding,wasmy favoriteclass,but I alsoenjoyedin-depthclasseson contemporary Russiaand China,openingupmy perspectivetoeachnation?sstrengthsand weaknesses Thisfall,Amherst hosted aforumwith January6 committeemember JamieRaskin,whilea monthlater,I witnessedastudent government impeachment! It mademefeel fortunatetohear fromsomeoneinvolvedingovernment and watch civicproceduresupclose Andontopof that,I took a computer scienceclass,whichjumpstartedanew lovefor programming,asI delvedintocodingpuzzle games,rudimentary artificial intelligence,anda Super MarioBros clone

But ultimately,I wasdrawntoAmherst becauseof itscommunity,andthat mademy experiencespecial Thecollegeissimultaneously insular and all-encompassing,withaclubfor every interest I wasinvolvedwithQuizBowl,Model UN,our outing club,andhelped get our runningclub active I?vemet several like-minded friendsand someof my favorite timeshavebeenexploringthemany roadsandtrails inwesternMassachusetts I bikeevery weekend,and discoveredthemysteriousnight-timerun! Next semester I amtaking:DataStructures,Computer Systems,Religionand ViolenceintheRomanEmpire, andEmpiresinGlobal History,andI?mtrainingfor a marathoninMay I?mextraordinarily grateful for MVYouth?ssupport,and I can? t wait for my next semester at Amherst.