2018 SUCCESS STORIES

Jenna Baron

Athletic Achievement Award Winner

Dear Dr. DeSimone, Thank you very much for selecting me for the Charity for Champions Athletic Achievement Award Scholarship. I will be attending the University of Central Florida in the fall where I plan to study engineering and continue my academic achievements. Due to my love of sports and competition I plan to remain active in intramural/club sports at UCF. The idea that Charity for Champions recognized my athletic ability and sportsmanship on and off the field is a wonderful feeling! I am truly humbled and honored to receive this award. I will represent this scholarship with great pride! Thank you again for selecting me for the 2018 Charity for Champions Award. Go KNIGHTS!

D’Andre Ragin

Personal Achievement Award

I am writing to thank “Charity for Champions” for the generous scholarship. I was extremely excited and honored upon learning that I was a recipient of the Personal Achievement Award! This means a lot to me because this financial assistance will allow me to further my education and dreams of playing college football at the University of Toledo. It feels good to have something to show that your hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Thank you again for the scholarship, I promise I won’t let it go to waste.

Santiago Espinoza

Personal Achievement Award Honorable Mention

Before anything, I would like to thank Dr. DeSimone, and the rest of the Charity for Champions. You guys have no idea what this means to me, and how much the help is appreciated. I admire your dedication Dr. D to aspiring athletes and helping them achieve their goals. I hope I can carry this out throughout my life and someday impact someone’s life the way you did mine. This award will contribute to me taking my education and my athletic aspirations further. I plan on pursuing a career in mechanical engineering in the University of Central Florida. I  also plan to try out for the club team to keep practicing the sport I love. Once again thank you Dr. DeSimone for this opportunity and thank you for inspiring me and the rest of the award recipients with your kindness and devotion.

Julian Powell

Lightning Award

I am very honored to be recognized for all of my hard work and to be receiving this scholarship. I’ve always had to work hard in everything I do, but football is one thing that I really gave everything I had. At the moment it seems as if this hard work and effort is too much to handle but in the end it always pays off. This scholarship really means a lot to me.

Alec Gordon

Personal Achievement Award Honorable Mention

First and foremost, I am incredibly honored to receive the Personal Achievement Award Honorable Mention scholarship. Thank you so much to Dr. DeSimone and the Charity for Champions team for selecting me as a recipient. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that my hard work on the 5K course, on the track, and inside the classroom is recognized. I am going to be attending Washington University in St. Louis in the fall, and will major in Business at the Olin Business School. Although I am not exactly sure of what I want to specifically study yet, I know that I definitely want to be involved in the sports world, so I look forward to taking Sports Management classes. Thank you again for the honor and the scholarship, I am so excited to see what the future holds!

Hailey Cox

Personal Achievement Award Winner

Being selected as a recipient of the Personal Achievement Award from the Charity for Champions organization is truly an honor and one of the highlights of my high school years. This scholarship will play a huge role in my future education at the University of Florida where I will begin in Fall, majoring in mathematics. It was not easy graduating with my Associates degree while still in high school, especially since I was varsity cheer captain, student government vice president, and in several AP classes, but I will say it was worth all the time, stress, and efforts. I cannot thank Dr. DeSimone, Mrs. DeSimone, and everyone else involved enough for recognizing and supporting students like me who try to be the best versions of themselves both on and off the field.

Christina Harrington

Sports Medicine Interest Award Winner

I am honored to be the recipient of the Sports Medicine Interest scholarship. I will be attending the University of Florida in the fall of 2018.  I plan on majoring in biology and becoming a sports medicine physician. Receiving this scholarship will help me pursue my dream of attending medical school. I am extremely grateful for the generous support of Charity for Champions and the kindness and dedication that Dr. and Mrs. DeSimone have to scholar athletes.

Autumn Boone

Most Improved Athlete Award Winner

I would like to thank everyone involved with this scholarship and picking me to receive the most improved athlete award. Receiving this scholarship means a lot to me since it will help me with college expenses. I will be attending Florida Gulf Coast University in the fall and study sports and exercise science in hopes to become an orthopedic in the future. Thank you again.

Mason Wasserman

Excellence Achievement Award

I would like to sincerely thank Dr. DeSimone for giving me the incredible honor of being a recipient of the Excellence Achievement Award. The award will not only help tremendously with my college expenses, but also will serve as a testament to all the work I put in on and off the ice. Next year, I will be attending Princeton University where I hope to study Physics and compete on the school’s club ice hockey team. As I begin  my  college journey, I hope to spread the type of kindness that Charity for Champions brings to many others through athletics, academics, and service. Once again, thank you Dr. DeSimone for this amazing honor!

Evan Von Oehsen

Personal Achievement Award Honorable Mention

I am truly honored to be receiving this award; it is fulfilling to see the hard work I put into athletics and academics pay off. I am most satisfied to know that, after all that my parents have done for me, I have a way to give back to them.  I will be attending Pomona College in Claremont, California, where I plan on majoring in computer science. Along with my studies I am privileged be continuing my soccer career as a defender on the varsity team. Thank you to Dr. DeSimone and Charity for Champions for your generosity and support of scholar-athletes, and for helping to make my dream possible!

Jared Strauss

Team Fellowship Award Winner

Dr. and Mrs. DeSimone, thank you so much for awarding me with the Charity for Champions Team Fellowship Award! I am truly honored to be selected from the group of student athletes to receive this award. Next fall, I will be attending the University of Florida and plan on studying engineering. I want to pursue a Master’s Degree in Engineering and then apply this degree to create solutions that will benefit society. As I continue into my adult life, I can only hope to give back to my community in the way that you two have through Charity for Champions. Once again, thank you so much for selecting me for the Team Fellowship Award!

Daniel Valledor

Athletic Achievement Award Honorable Mention

At this time, I would like to thank Dr. DeSimone for awarding me the Athletic Achievement Award Honorable Mention Scholarship. Throughout high school, I faced adversity and persevered through many hardships that was presented to me. I achieved success due to the time and effort I put in both my academics and athletics. I am extremely grateful for receiving this award since it recognizes my hard work and dedication. I will be attending the University of Central Florida this fall to continue my academics. I plan to major in Electrical Engineering and eventually work in the biomedical engineering field. It was pleasure meeting Dr. DeSimone and I am honored to receive this award.

Zariya Harris

Extraordinary Community Service Award Winner

I received the Al DeSimone Charity for Champions scholarship for community service. Being awarded with this scholarship gave me confidence that all my hard work is paying off. The money I received is going to help me further my education at Florida Gulf Coast University in  Fort Myers. In the fall, I plan on studying nursing. I’ve always known that I had a passion for making people feel better and nursing sounded like a good fit for me.

Matthew Rigaud

Team Fellowship Award Honorable Mention

Once again, I would just like to thank the Charity for Champions organization on just allowing me the opportunity to apply let alone actually receive one of the scholarships. The University I will be attending this upcoming summer is the University of Central Florida. I am very excited to be attending this school because not only had this been my dream school, I will also be going to school with my older brother and will have him to guide me. My future plans are to eventually go to medical school and then after many years of hard work, become a doctor. The Charity for Champions scholarship means so much to me because they gave me a chance to showcase how I am well-rounded and diverse.

Max Diez

Goodwill Scholarship Winner

Words cannot express how grateful I am for being chosen by Dr. DeSimone and the Charity for Champions Foundation to receive the Goodwill Scholarship . This award will help me achieve my goal of attending Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Thanks to Dr. DeSimone I will be able to play Division 1 soccer in one of the toughest conferences in the NCAA. While I am there, I am planning on participating in a program that allows me to graduate with a degree in finance and my MBA. I am extremely excited to being pursuing my career and forever grateful to the Charity of Champions Foundation for helping me achieve my goal of  playing soccer in college.  

Karla Arias

Academic Achievement Award Winner

Before anything, I would like to thank Dr. DeSimone and the Charity for Champions committee for choosing me for this award. I am very honored to have received the Academic Achievement Award in recognition for having outstanding grades and academic achievements while playing high school and club soccer. This fall I will be attending the University of Central Florida to major in Biomedical Sciences. My plans for the future is to attend medical school to become an orthopedic or pediatric surgeon. It has always been my dream to help others and following this path will help me do so. Becoming a doctor will be a long journey I am willing to take in order to cure and bring smiles to those who are in need. The Charity for Champions means a step forward to achieve my dreams and shows me that this committee has faith in my journey as well. Once again, thank you to the entire Charity of Champions committee for selecting me to receive this award.

Nicholas Maykut

Sports Medicine Interest Award Winner

I would like to start off by saying thank you for the amazing honor to be selected to receive the Charity for Champions Sports Medicine Interest Award. This award will help me achieve my dream of attending undergraduate school and, eventually, medical school. It gives me confidence to know that professionals in my desired field and community support my goals. I hope to one day, like you, be a practicing physician and help others build and foster their futures as well. Once again, thank you and I hope to talk to you soon.