The Winners Wall: Testimonials | CommonScholarshipApp

Jimmy

Class of 2023
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

$3,450 Awarded for Fall 2020

“I realized in high school that I was different. I am classified with autism, but I want people to know that being African American and having autism makes me stronger. People tried to tell me I would never be able to get into UNC. But with the money I received, I will be the first one in my family to go to university and I can go to my dream school, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.”

About Jimmy

As a young African American, classified with autism and identifying as gay, Jimmy has had to overcome enormous hurdles and challenges every single day. Despite being told that college was not in his future, he persevered with exceptional grades and was accepted into the class of 2023 at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

While passionate about Computer Science/Information Technology, he is also dedicated to raising awareness about autism, the African American community, and the LGBTQ community.

Coming from a single income family, getting into college wasn’t his biggest concern, but rather being able to afford it to get the education he so desperately worked hard for and deserves.

This scholarship will make it possible for him to be the first person in his family to go to a university!

Annai

Class of 2023
University of California, Berkeley

$4,800 Awarded for Fall 2020

“I come from an underprivileged community and my dream school was UC Berkeley. A lot of people think it’s just a financial stress, but it really manifests into so much more when you’re paying for it with money you don’t have. The money I’ve won doesn’t just mean less debt. It means peace of mind.”

About Annai

Annai is a rising sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley and comes from a hard-working immigrant family of six children. She was strongly encouraged to attend a state university due to the extreme tuition costs to go out of state, but Annai was determined to pursue her passion for chemical engineering at her dream school.

In the past year, she moved to California, lived on her own for the first time and worked part-time while fulfilling extra academic credits, all while worrying about how to pay for her education. Students like Annai shouldn’t be forced to sacrifice their passions or restrict their ambitions due to overwhelming financial constraints.

This scholarship will alleviate some of her student debt while allowing her to continue to attend her dream university, follow her passion, and make her family proud!

Anastasia

Class of 2021
University of Southern California

$10,000 Awarded for 2020-2021 academic year

“Winning this scholarship is a huge amount of money for my education and I’ve always valued my education above anything else. Having that $10,000 is going to significantly decrease my debt, significantly decrease the interest that I’m going to owe, and it’s really going to allow me to not be so stressed so it means the world to me.”

About Anastasia

Anastasia is a rising senior at the University of Southern California, pursuing her passion in theatre and film. However, she is in a very unique situation. Her mother is her sole provider with a preschool teacher salary, as her father unfortunately passed away while she was in high school. When her mother remarried, Anastasia was required to include her step father’s income in her FAFSA, despite the fact that he doesn’t contribute to her tuition at all.

If it wasn’t for this, Anastasia would have been eligible for a FULL RIDE with only her mother’s income. However, she receives ZERO financial aid, and was looking to take out a $60K loan to cover the cost of her final year.

This scholarship will significantly alleviate her student debt and interest at her dream film school!

Matthew

Class of 2021
University of South Carolina

$9,500 Awarded for 2020-2021 academic year

“When it comes to scholarships, I’ve kind of just taken as many shots as I can and hoped for the best. I grew up in a single family home. Money’s not always there, so I work about 40 hours a week on top of classes. Personally, having this money means I get to cut down on hours at work, and spend more time working on school and being a senior in college.”

About Matthew

Matthew is a rising senior at the University of South Carolina, studying Mathematics and Actuarial Science. Currently, he is working 3 different jobs while attending school full-time to support himself and pay for the cost of tuition.

He comes from a family where money isn’t always there so he works hard to pay for as much as he can. With working 40+ hours a week while being a full-time student, he doesn’t have much free time to apply for scholarships, but when he does he takes as many shots as he can.

This scholarship will significantly alleviate his financial burden and allow him to cut down his hours working to focus on his senior year.