Students' Stories

In Their Own Words

"No longer had a home"

It was August and wonderfully balmy. "I can pretty much work as much as you want me to," I told my boss, "I don't have anything planned between now and when school starts." I had just come back from volunteering as a counselor at a kids' camp for my church. I would be starting my senior year of high school in just a few weeks. I had time to work extra hours and hang out with my friends. It was the last summer of high school and it was ending wonderfully... up until we got the eviction notice.

I no longer had a home. All of my belongings except for my clothes were in storage. All of my clothes were in suitcases, and they would be for the next two months.

My mother is a diabetic and has several disorders. My mom's medical bills average $700 a month without insurance. I began paying for her medical expenses whenever I could. Soon we couldn't even afford to get my mom's testing strips and she had to guess what her blood sugar was.

We began relying on the church's food pantry whenever I couldn't buy groceries. I know that soon we will be back to square one, scraping up enough dollars to buy a pack of ramen noodles and hopefully some milk... or me skipping out on lunch because I can't even afford a 75 cent bag of chips.

When some days I felt like school was not as important as the fact that I may not eat tomorrow, I remembered...that I have faith in God to help me and that school would be the ultimate answer to end the cycle so that my kids will never have to face the prospect of being homeless. L.D., current Hendrick Scholarship Student

"Left all by myself"

Ever since my mom died, I've felt so alone. I really can't talk to my father and the rest of my family doesn't call. I was kind of just left all by myself in this situation. But I really do try and do my best with everything. It's funny how sometimes people are forced to grow up faster than they should have to. I actually feel like the parent sometimes. I now do everything: I work, I go to school, I do all of the housework, make dinner, grocery shopping. I even pay for my own stuff. And let me tell you, it can get so lonely sometimes that it's so hard to bear.

So now I have no money for college because of all I've had to take care of. That's why I hope to get this scholarship because what I really want to do is to go to college, better my education, and work hard so that I can help others. I want to go to medical school in order to open an affordable clinic.

I will be the first to go to college in my family, and I won't give up on obtaining my dreams and goals. I plan to do my best and to succeed in college but I need your help getting there.

Someone once told me that "All you need is one shining light in life to get you through the tough times, and to everything you've ever worked for." That's all I ask for, that all I need is that one shining light. K.P.,current Hendrick Student

A Long Journey

As a child growing up in West Africa I experienced nothing but bloody wars that only led to lives and dreams being taken away. The rebels would start wars between nations and the civilians would have to pay the price. I can still remember having to stay up all night just to dodge bullets and grenades. We slept in deadly swamps during the day an tried to make our escape at night without getting spotted by rebels.

Bearing in mind all these broken dreams, my friends, family and I still kept our visions of coming to America and becoming educated successful people. Finally in 1992, a part of my vision became reality. My father and I were granted our visa, our one-way ticket to America. Though my father always said that my only focus should be education, and that it is the only thing that would make me successful in life, he made no effort to help me in my journey towards this success. Almost every day I would walk to and from school by myself, do my homework and study by myself, and just about anything I can think of that all my friends' parents would do for them or with them, I was alone on my own.

Things only got worse in my senior year when every time my dad's girlfriend and I would get into an argument he would take her side regardless of the situation. Things finally boiled over when my father's girlfriend and I got into a fight late one night and he demanded that I leave immediately. I was only 18 and homeless because I didn't have a stable living environment. I was living from friend to friend for awhile until I was finally accepted into City House, a transitional living facility for homeless teens.

Through all my trials and tribulations, I still have the vision of achieving the American dream of obtaining my college education. D.W., current Hendrick Student