A Special Thank You from a Beat the Odds® Recipient
To the Members of the Prince William County Bar Association:
It is hard to believe that it was just June 2007 when I graduated from high school and your organization awarded me a scholarship. Thanks to your support, I have been able to accomplish a lot over my first three academic semesters. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunities that I have been given and continue to want to share my gratitude as well as an update of the accomplishments I have made; many of which would have been impossible without your support.
I have just finished the Fall 2008 semester at George Mason University and have earned a total of 54 credits. So far I have been placed on the Dean's List and have a cumulative 3.5 GPA. I have a double major in both Legal Studies as well as Child and Family Studies. I am co-authoring a book on emotional related behaviors of preschoolers and also regular edit academic journal articles with Dr. Pamela Garner; a Mason faculty member who has taken me under her wing. I have also been providing after-school help to a local family with four boys for the past two years and it has been a very fun, convenient, and rewarding opportunity to earn extra money while attending school full time. I continue to live on campus and am enjoying the college experience.
Hard Work in the Big Easy
Spring Break 2008 served as a unique opportunity for me to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. George Mason's Center for Leadership and Community Engagement organized "Alternative Spring Breaks" that allow students to spend their Spring Break participating in a two week long out of state service project. This was truly the highlight of my first year at Mason and I look forward to becoming involved in more Alternative Spring Break projects in the future.
While in New Orleans, I helped "gut" and renovate an elderly woman's home. The woman had been homeless since Hurricane Katrina because her house was so severely damaged. It felt great to invest my time helping others and also gave me an opportunity to experience the sites and culture of this unique city.
Plans for the Future
A lot of exciting opportunities are coming my way and the future looks bright. Most exciting is an invitation I received to attend Oxford University in England as an International Student for the Fall 2009 semester. Although there are some clear obstacles I must overcome in order to make this dream a reality, I am continuing to actively pursue this honorable and life changing option. I have registered for the Spring 2009 semester and will be taking on a 19 credit load while continuing to work alongside Dr. Garner. I am applying for a summer internship as a political journalist in Washington, D.C. and look forward to hearing back from the "Live, Learn, Intern" organization.
I have committed myself to another Alternative Spring Break and this year will be traveling to Atlanta to work with local at-risk youths. Hopefully this semester will be as fulfilling as the others and I will be sure to share the outcome with your organization. Again, thank you so much for your support. You have helped me more than you will ever truly know.
- Kristina
About Kristina's Success Story
Kristina received the Dr. Nina Roscher Memorial Beat the Odds Scholarship Award in 2007. She started out life in a stable but struggling family and saw her world crumble around her when her father became injured at work and began to self-medicate, which drained the family financial resources. As a result of rising tensions in the family, her parents divorced and her father encountered substance abuse problems. Her mother's stability also declined drastically and she entered into an abusive relationship which made Kristina's home life not only difficult but life-threatening.
Kristina's constant attempts to protect her mother and counsel her against remaining in the dangerous relationship put her in direct conflict with the abuser and ultimately caused her to be thrown out of the only home she had ever known. Incapable of caring for her, her father tried to place her with a friend but when her father landed in jail the friend refused to keep her any longer and Kristina found herself homeless once again with nowhere to turn.
Thankfully the family of a school friend agreed to take Kristina in and she has lived with them for the last two years. Kristina says the members of the Apple family have been her "angels," offering her the support, love and security she needed to help her overcome the losses she had suffered.
Kristina is determined not to suffer her parents' fate and recognizes that education is the key to achieving her goals. Through all her tribulations Kristina has maintained an exceptional academic record. She graduated with a 3.7 GPA in her senior year at Osbourn High School, taking both honors and advanced placement college courses and working multiple jobs after school. Kristina completed an internship at Manassas Family Services and would like to become a social worker since she feels her experiences would give her a lot to offer other troubled families. Her advice, for those who are also struggling with obstacles to their success, is to remember that your history does not determine your future. Kristina dreams of someday finding peace.
