2015 SUCCESS STORIES
Nicole Haines
Academic Achievement Award
Receiving a scholarship from such an honorable organization as Charity for Champions not only brings me great pleasure, but will certainly encourage me to continue striving to do my best as I pursue my college education. My goal for the future is to excel in a science-based major that will provide me the education and opportunity to continue to assist others in our community and I expect that the scholarship will help me to achieve my goals at the University of Florida.
Thank you for your continued contributions to our community. Go Gators!
Kalie Maniglia
Personal Achievement Award
It is with humble gratitude that I thank Dr. DeSimone and the Charity for Champions for awarding me with the Personal Achievement Scholarship. My time as a student athlete at Cypress Bay High School proved to be four years of growing, learning, and achieving for myself personally. As I move on in my academic journey, I will be attending the University of Florida pursuing a bachelor’s degree in political science and later attending law school.
My future endeavors will once again challenge me with new and unfamiliar situations which I plan to overcome, displaying the same amount of personal achievement that Dr. DeSimone saw in me when awarding this scholarship.
Jared Schwait
Excellence Achievement Award
I plan to attend MIT to study Computer Science and Math, as well as continue my baseball career. Dr. DeSimone’s Excellence Achievement Award truly means a lot to me as I feel that this award recognizes all the hard work I have put in, over the years, both in the classroom and on the field. I hope to represent Charity for Champions to the best of my abilities in every aspect during my next four years at MIT, as well as for the rest of my life.
Thank you so much Doctor!
Amber VanHemel
Excellence Achievement Award
I come from a tight-knit family and community where everyone has always been supportive in everything I do. At home, my younger sister looks up to me and considers me to be her role model. Within my community, I have always played team sports like soccer, softball, and volleyball, which emphasize cooperation and collaboration. Consequently, I have experienced the incredible sensation of meeting twelve new strangers and five weeks later, having twelve new sisters.
All of these wonderful, funny, unique and beautiful people in my life have shaped me to become a “people person.” I want to not only meet, but also help, as many people as I can. I have always had only one long-term goal: make a difference in other peoples’ lives. I hope that the more people I talk to, the greater the likelihood that I will significantly impact a person’s life. Whether it be through my education or career, I aspire to leave an imprint on someone, anyone and be remembered as someone who made a difference.
I am proud to be a member of the student-athlete community. We are a group of people who have perfected the skill of carrying around our textbooks, equipment, and backpacks on game day. We understand the struggle of trying to squeeze in that beautiful, often scarce, phenomenon called sleep into our already jam-packed schedules. We are a group of people who know the true definition of determination and endurance. Determination is being able to come back and win a championship game from a 7-0 deficit. Endurance is being able go full speed in the seventh game of a tournament while ignoring the impending exhaustion. I put everything I have into my performance in the classroom and on the field and court.
Receiving this scholarship means so much to me because it validates all of the work I put into leading this double life.
Juliet Santiago
Artistic Achievement Award
I am extremely honored to have been awarded the Artistic Achievement Award by Dr. Al DeSimone and his entire team. Being a recipient of a Charity for Champion Scholarship has brought great happiness to both my family and myself. The scholarship has reassured me that my participation in the arts has not only brought great joy into my life but also helped me become a better athlete and achieve my goals on and off the track. In the summer I will be attending the University of Florida with a major in Chemistry.
My greatest dream and desire is to one day become a doctor so that I can continue with my efforts to make the world a better place just as Dr. Al DeSimone does each and every day. I cannot thank Dr. Al DeSimone enough for all that he, his wife, and his entire organization has done for not only me but for hundreds of other athletes that truly wish to make a difference in the lives of others.
Meredith Sheldon
Extraordinary Community Service Award
I am honored to receive the Community Service Award from Charity for Champions. I cannot thank Dr. and Mrs. DeSimone and the foundation enough for recognizing my dedication to athletics and service. I will be attending the University of Florida and I plan to major in Journalism and Health.
This scholarship help put my dreams and career goals in perspective, allowing me to combine my two passions: writing and health and fitness.
Allison Blake
Extraordinary Community Service Award
I’m thankful for the opportunity Dr. DeSimone has given me through this scholarship. I will be attending the University of Florida and plan to major in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology. Hopefully, I will be continuing onto graduate school once I get my degree. This scholarship has made it easier to see my dreams becoming reality and I am honored to have been chosen.
I’m looking forward to hopefully working with Dr. DeSimone and his staff as a physical therapist.
Gillian Couture
Goodwill Scholarship Award
I would like to thank Dr. Al DeSimone and his entire team for this wonderful opportunity! I am truly honored and blessed to have received Al DeSimone’s Charity for a Champion Scholarship. As it is reassuring to know that all of my hard work, on and off the field, at Cypress Bay High School has not gone unnoticed.
I will be attending Florida State University and am pursing a career in nursing. As a nurse I can continue to do what I do best, which is helping others.
Giveth Scarlett Rocha
Sports Medicine Interest Award
I cannot thank Dr. Al DeSimone, his family and his organization enough for choosing me as a recipient for the Sports Medicine Interest Award. It is a true honor to be a recipient of this scholarship and a part of such an amazing organization.
Dr. Al DeSimone, you are truly an inspiration, not only to myself but to so many. As someone who has devoted his time and education in bettering the health of his community, you have influenced many along the way. I find you to be truly successful, not because of your degree or your grossly income but because you are able to help others in many ways. As a doctor, there is no doubt that helping people is your job but even so as an individual, you are helping young students, like myself, fulfill their dreams and desires by aiding them with scholarships. This is why I find you to be truly successful because you are helping others become successful. By receiving this scholarship, you have opened many doors for my future. My interest in sports have attracted my attention to major in Sports Medicine but the kindness that you have shown has caught my attention to help others the way you do.
Once again, I would just like to thank Dr. Al DeSimone and his Charity for Champions Organization for this generous scholarship and I hope that one day I can be as successful as Dr. Al DeSimone and help others become successful.
Jacky Huchler
Team Fellowship Award
This scholarship is not only an honor towards me, but an honor to all my coaches, teammates and family. Everyone has helped me someway or another throughout my high school athletic career and I am blessed to continue my soccer career at University of South Carolina. My future plans include studying Exercise Science and Sports Management, I will use these majors to hopefully become a college coach. Receiving the scholarship of dedication, teamwork and compassion is a representation of my hard work paying off!
Thank you again for treating my injuries and honoring me with the award.
Jessie Modrak
Athletic Achievement Award
Special thanks to Dr. Al DeSimone and his stunning wife Sasha for granting me this honor. I will be attending the University of Florida in the Fall where I plan to continue my love for the water by joining the club water polo team. I look forward to studying at the Heavener school of business. The recognition I received with this scholarship is thanks to the hard work and dedication from my lady lightning team. This Athletic Achievement award reassured me that I gave my all in my role as captain, and I could not be more grateful for the success our team as had in the past three seasons.
Thank you again for believing in not only my ability to lead and succeed, but also by recognizing the values of teamwork, cooperation, and determination to achieve a common goal.
Laura Bravo
Athletic Achievement Award
I am honored to have been awarded an Academic Achievement Award by Dr. Al DeSimone and his Charity for Champions. It is not so much the fact that I received the award that means something me, but what that mention represents in itself. It demonstrates that with hard-work and dedication you can accomplish things you never knew you could do. For me it was in academics that I found myself and sports helped alleviate the stress academics imposed on me. Yet, in the end I thrived and was able to achieve not only all my academic goals but also all the goals I had set for myself when I joined my team. I plan to attend the University of Florida in the fall. This scholarship money will aide me in paying for college and help me achieve my goals of becoming a Chemical Engineer in the future.
Thank you to Dr. DeSimone, his wife, and his Charity for Champions. This charity serves as an excellent motivator to get athletes in our community active and involved in all aspects of life. Thank you so much!
Nicolas Schwarz
Athletic Achievement Award
I am very grateful for having received Dr. DeSimone’s Charity for Champions scholarship because it shows how my hard work on and off the pool has payed off. I plan on using these funds to pursue a career in Mathematical Decision Science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This major will allow me the option to decide in the coming years whether to pursue a career as an industrial engineer, actuary, or operation researcher.
Olivia Gott
Athletic Achievement Award
I am honored to receive the Athletic Achievement Award from Charity for Champions, and I wish to thank Dr. and Mrs. DeSimone and the selection committee for showing interest in my story and for recognizing my performances in the classroom and on the softball field. It feels good knowing that my commitment to both sportsmanship and leadership do not go unnoticed.
My future plans will be taking a foothold in Charlottesville, where I will be attending the University of Virginia as a student-athlete. I will be majoring in Biology, with plans on becoming a physician’s assistant.
Jake Truske
Lightning Award
I am honored to have received Al DeSimone’s Charity for Champions scholarship. I have worked hard throughout high school to excel both in the classroom and on the football field, and I plan on continuing to do so through college and beyond. I am grateful for all the support I have received, including this award from Dr. Al DeSimone.
