The Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students Helps
Students Making a Positive Impact
NEWARK, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ANABrand?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#ANABrandlt;/agt;–Four inspirational graduate school students were each awarded a $20,000
Bridging the Dream Scholarship from Sallie Mae. The four students, who
assumed they were only finalists for the scholarship, were surprised
yesterday by the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing
Officer, Donna Vieira, during her presentation at the Association of
National Advertisers’ (ANA) Brand Activation Marketing Conference.
“The ANA Conference provided the perfect backdrop to share how Sallie
Mae’s brand is evolving, and created an opportunity to put those words
into action with our surprise scholarship announcement,” said Donna
Vieira, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Sallie
Mae. “This year’s recipients are a distinguished group of scholars who
are doing amazing things in their respective fields. It’s particularly
gratifying to create additional opportunities through our Bridging the
Dream Scholarship Program and to help them continue to build prosperous
futures for themselves and others.”
This year’s recipients — Felipe Hernandez of California, Kristen Lear of
Ohio, Mary Sun of Virginia, and Joshua Yang of California — were
selected from more than 4,700 applications. Candidates were asked to
creatively describe their journey to graduate school, who or what
influenced them to pursue an advanced degree, and what advice they would
give themselves as college freshmen.
Felipe Hernandez, a first-generation college student and Fulbright
Scholar, is completing his law degree at Harvard University, and aspires
to assist and advocate for low-income communities and minorities.
“As a first-generation student, I didn’t assume college, let alone
graduate school, was a possibility for me, but I was determined to make
it happen,” said Hernandez. “Receiving the Bridging the Dream
Scholarship only further encourages me to continue fighting for the
rights of others, so that they, too, may be able to overcome barriers to
success. I am grateful for Sallie Mae’s support and generosity.”
Kristen Lear, a PhD candidate at the University of Georgia and Fulbright
Scholar, is a conservationist who aspires to leverage her love of
science and nature to support the next generation of women scientists,
and to inspire others to be good stewards of the world.
“I am honored to be selected as a recipient of Sallie Mae’s Bridging the
Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students,” said Lear. “Scholarships like
this allow me to continue on my higher education journey and ultimately
positions me for personal and professional success.”
Mary Sun, a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount
Sinai in New York City, aspires to reform the American health care
experience with a focus on victims of abuse.
“This scholarship is an investment in my ultimate goal to help others,”
said Sun. “I am empowered by this opportunity and will work to ensure
others feel the impact of my studies.”
Joshua Yang, a bio-tech entrepreneur, is currently enrolled in a MD-PhD
program at Johns Hopkins University. This fall, he will begin working on
his MBA at Stanford University and plans to use his degree to bring new
innovations to healthcare.
“Leaving medical school to pursue my MBA was a tough decision, but what
has shaped my decisions throughout my personal and academic life has
been an intrinsic, ever-present feeling to never settle,” said Yang.
“Receiving this scholarship from Sallie Mae not only confirms that I
made the right decision, but also puts me one step closer to achieving
my goals in healthcare leadership and innovation.”
Sallie Mae’s Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate School is an
extension of the company’s Bridging
the Dream Scholarship Program, which together have awarded more than
$500,000 in scholarships over the past three years to college-bound high
school students and graduate students.
Sallie Mae also offers Graduate
School Scholarship Search tool, which offers access to 950,000
graduate scholarships worth up to $1 billion.
For more information, visit SallieMae.com.
Sallie Mae (Nasdaq: SLM) believes education and life-long
learning, in all forms, help people achieve great things. As the leader
in private student lending, we provide financing and know-how to support
access to college and offer products and resources to help customers
make new goals and experiences, beyond college, happen. Learn more at
SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its
subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of
America.
Contacts
Antoine L. Oakley
302.451.4916
[email protected]
