Meet Our Undergraduate and Graduate Scholarship Winners!

Next up in the spotlight are the undergraduate and graduate scholarship winners! The drive, professional goals, and perseverance of Sabree, Rachel, Benjamin, Karly, and Alexandria impressed the scholarship committee.

Sabree Burbage is pursuing a dual master’s degree in public health and pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Upon graduation, she intends to use her degree to help eliminate disparities in the access, delivery, and quality of care for underserved and minority patients by conducting health services research that informs policy and guides practice. Sabree plans to complete a fellowship in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) in which she will work to evaluate the value of a certain drugs or interventions on the healthcare system and to improve patient outcomes. After her fellowship, she would like to continue with HEOR in pharmaceutical industry, or in a government or integrated health system. Within either sector, Sabree aspires to decrease disparities for underrepresented populations and improve the quality of healthcare and market access for patients of all backgrounds. As a first generation college student, Sabree has overcome many difficulties throughout her life.

Rachel Bartoe is working to obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing at LaGrange College. After learning about mental and physical disabilities while completing her bachelor’s in psychology, Rachel decided she wanted to impact the lives of children through nursing. Since she was young, Rachel has devoted much of her time in and out of school to helping children with mental and physical disabilities. She is both extremely motivated and anxious to apply her degree by improving as many childrens’ lives as she can. “With this award I will be able to spend more time progressing in my studies and gaining vital experience within the nursing field rather than working to pay for my tuition,” Rachel shared.

Benjamin Huang is currently in the undergraduate electrical engineering program at Johns Hopkins University and has plans to attend medical school. He strives to create a future where advanced medical hardware makes medicine safer, more efficient, and more accessible. Since developing this hardware is an inherently interdisciplinary endeavor that brings together knowledge from many fields, Benjamin has decided that electrical engineering is an ideal undergraduate degree to prepare him for medical school. After graduating medical school, he hopes to join the research faculty of a medical school affiliated with a hospital and large research university, where he can make the most out of his electrical engineering and medical background. Eventually, he would like to launch a startup in partnership with the university to realize more radical ideas and technologies. While Benjamin has faced many hurdles through his life and educational journey, he is grateful that the scholarship will help him pursue the research and education he is interested in.

Karly Lau is a student at Chaminade University of Honolulu completing a bachelor’s degree in nursing. While pursuing her degree, Karly is also working as at a level one trauma center as an emergency room tech. She loves working in the emergency room because of the variety of patients that come in, all with different types of issues. Since she loves the variety of patients she gets to work with, Karly plans to continue working in the emergency room after obtaining her degree, as an emergency department nurse. Additionally, she plans to help give back to the community by educating people on their medical problems and how to manage them. As a single mother of two, Karly has overcome many obstacles throughout her life.

Alexandria Palacios is a Biochemistry major Arizona State University. After taking multiple career exploration workshops, Alexandria decided that she wanted to pursue an education that would keep her on her toes and require critical thinking. While she is not positive that Biochemistry will be her set plan for her undergraduate degree, she has a drive to excel, keep learning, and do her personal best in whatever field she ends up in. She hopes to be in a career where she can both benefit her community and apply the knowledge that she is gaining in her studies. While Alexandria has faced many hardships throughout her life, she is grateful for the financial support that will help her reach her goals.

We are incredibly proud of our undergraduate and graduate scholarship winners as they continue in their educational journeys. We can’t wait to see what each of them achieve! The next round of scholarships is currently open and winners will be finalized after the December 30th deadline. If you are a current community college, undergraduate, or graduate student, look into our scholarships page for more information!