2018 SUCCESS STORIES
Stephanie Moreno
Academic Achievement Award Winner
I want to thank Dr. DeSimone for the opportunity to receive the Academic Achievement Award Scholarship. I would also like to thank my family, friends, and especially teachers for guiding me through the last four years and helping me become the young woman I am today. This scholarship inspires and pushes me to continue the next four years with determination and excitement at the University of Texas at Austin as I major in Biomedical Engineering. Throughout the next four years, I’m eager to delve into researching genetic modifications to possibly find cures to hereditary diseases, such as Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease. Once again, thank you for the difference you are making in the lives of so many kids!
William North
Team Fellowship Award Winner
I would like to thank Dr. DeSimone and Mrs. DeSimone as well as the rest of those involved in Charity for Champions for the Team Fellowship Award. This scholarship is very important because it will help me further my studies at the University of Michigan. I plan to major in biology on the pre-med track in order to pursue my goal of working in the medical field. Modern day medicine is the work a team, not just an individual. This Award further highlights the importance of working with others to achieve a common goal.
Laura Garzon
Extraordinary Community Service Award Winner
I am honored to have been awarded the Extraordinary Community Service Award by Dr. Al DeSimone and his Charity for Champions. This award represents so much to me—It embodies the hard-work and dedication I have accomplished over the years through my service. I was able to reach my goal that I set as a freshman: to exceed over 500 service hours by my senior year. The number of community service hours that I did does not define me, it is the actions I took along my journey that does. Through my sport, my academics, and my community service I found happiness in my life. I will be attending the University of Central Florida in the summer and I will be majoring in Biology (B.S.) Pre-Professional Track. This scholarship money will aid me in paying for college and help me achieve my goals of becoming a Dermatologist and Cosmetic surgeon in the future. Thank you to Dr. DeSimone, his wife, and his Charity for Champions. This charity serves as an excellent opportunity to allow athletes in my community to strive for their hopes and dream. Thank you so much!
Andrea Chiurillo
Extraordinary Community Service Award Winner
I want to thank you for this generous scholarship that you have kindly awarded to myself and many of my classmates. This fall I will be attending the Stern School of Business at New York University. I plan to concentrate in Finance and, living within blocks of Wall Street, I plan to use this amazing opportunity to my advantage. Thank you for everything you do to make our community a better place.
Mackenzie Bartlett
Academic Achievement Award Honorable Mention
I would like to thank Dr. DeSimone and his team for the great honor of being a recipient of the Charity for Champions scholarship. I am truly grateful to have been recognized for my academic and athletic achievements throughout high school. In the fall, I will be attending the University of Florida and plan to major in nursing. My dream is to become a traveling nurse and then go back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner. Thanks to Charity for Champions, my dream is slowly becoming a reality and is constantly inspiring me to do more for others to help them reach their own dreams!
Madelyn Corliss
Sports Medicine Interest Award Honorable Mention
I am honored to be awarded the Sports Medicine Interest Honorable Mention. I would like to thank Dr. DeSimone and everybody involved with this award and choosing me for this honor. The recognition for all of my hard work throughout high school means a lot, especially from somebody that I hold in such high regard. This summer I will be attending the University of Florida as an Applied Physiology and Kinesiology major. In the future, I plan on becoming an orthopedic surgeon for athletes. Go gators!
Patrick Brennan
Team Fellowship Award Winner
I have grown up with Notre Dame all my life. Growing up visiting my grandparents in Indiana as a child, I was entranced by the gold domes on top of the main building as well as the heads of the Irish football players and the tradition of family woven in cloth of the university. As a student and football player at St. Thomas Aquinas, I have been constantly surrounded by rich tradition similar to that of South Bend. Notre Dame seemed to fit my ideal college experience from the prestigious schools within it down to the colors: blue and gold. For this reason, once I was admitted, finances aside, the decision was easy. My time at St. Thomas has taught me never to give up on what I want, and opportunities such as Charity for Champions and the Team Fellowship Award have allowed me to achieve this dream of attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall. This scholarship is my ticket to Indiana, but it is what I do with this opportunity that will only build upon its great value. I would like to thank Dr. DeSimone, Mrs. Alexandra DeSimone, Ms. Selena Santos and the rest of their staff for this great honor. I am proud to say that I am a Charity for Champions scholarship recipient and a Team Fellowship Award winner.
Hannah Rothbard
Artistic Achievement Award Winner
I want to thank Dr. DeSimone for empowering students like me to pursue our goals by recognizing our hard work. I am incredibly grateful to have received the Charity for Champions Artistic Achievement Award, which will allow me to attend school in the greatest city in the world. I am excited to continue my studies at New York University, where I plan on studying fine arts and urban studies while designing my own unique major in the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. I can’t wait to run around the city! Thank you again, Dr. DeSimone for this amazing opportunity.
Cameron Givens
Team Fellowship Award
I attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale for high school and next year will continue my academic journey at the Florida Atlantic University. My future goals are to one day own a corporation. To me when you know that something is yours and no one can take that from you, that is the way to live. I do not believe in working for others all that does is make them or their company look good and not you. The Charity of Champions scholarship to me means that they have given me an opportunity to have financial advancement for school and I thank the entire organization for choosing me among the countless others.
Asante Samuel
Personal Achievement Award
Florida State University has always been my dream school since a little kid. Most kids don’t even get the opportunity to see the school. However, I was fortunate enough to receive a full scholarship to my dream school. My future plans while attending Florida State is to major in business and pursue my other dream which is to make it to the N.F.L . This award is a very special award to me because my sophomore year was really my breakout year in high school football but there where bumps in the road that Dr. DeSimone helped me overcome. During the middle of the season I sprained my LCL after a hard-fought game against Hallandale high school. I thought I was going to be out for the rest of the season but with the help of Dr. D I have been playing the best football of my life!
Jelani Bardouille
Extraordinary Community Service Award Honorable Mention
I am extremely thankful for the opportunity of receiving this scholarship. With this scholarship, the financial burden of paying for college will be slightly alleviated for my family and me. I plan to attend the University of Florida this fall. I will be majoring in Biochemistry on the pre-med track to become a doctor after graduating with my Bachelor’s degree.
Caden Blanchard
Team Fellowship Award
Fortunately, I will be attending the University of Oklahoma to further my athletic and academic achievements. With the help of Dr. DeSimone and the support from his staff along with Saint Thomas, I will be able to achieve my dreams of becoming an Orthopedic surgeon. Whilst doing so, I will also be able to play the sport I love dearly while deepening my academic knowledge.
Chad Keirnan
Personal Achievement Award
I would like to thank Dr. DeSimone and his wife for extending such generosity in granting me this scholarship. It is greatly appreciated and will definitely help with my education expenses at The University of Mount Union. I will be majoring in finance this fall and intend to pursue a career in financial planning.
Maryum Salim
Academic Achievement Award Honorable Mention
The scholarship means everything to me because it is encouraging to be recognized for my achievements in high school and that The Charity for Champions organization is investing in my future. I am thankful for this gracious blessing as it will enable me to work diligently in school instead of fumbling around for funds. I will pursue biomedical engineering this fall and partake in research. I also aim to attend medical school to become a neurosurgeon. This scholarship allows me to be one step closer to fulfilling my dreams and for that I am forever grateful.
Courtney Kleino
Academic Achievement Award Honorable Mention
I am honored to be the recipient of the Academic Achievement Award Honorable Mention. It is rewarding to receive this recognition as a scholar athlete for my academic accomplishments and my achievements as a member and Captain of the Varsity Cheer and Competition teams. I will be attending the University of Florida starting in the Summer of 2018 to pursue a combined Bachelor’s / Master’s degree in Finance. Receiving this scholarship will assist me in enriching my education by studying abroad and pursuing summer internships in my field while at UF. I am extremely grateful for this recognition and for the generous support of Charity for Champions. Thank you to the Charity for Champion’s committee, Dr. DeSimone and Mrs. DeSimone for this honor.
Korrin Sheahan
Extraordinary Community Service Award Honorable Mention
Thank you, Dr. DeSimone, Mrs. DeSimone, and the Charity for Champions team, for selecting me as a recipient of the Extraordinary Community Service Award Honorable Mention, it is truly an honor. Throughout high school I have participated in Varsity Cheerleading, upholding a high GPA taking AP, dual enrollment and honors courses, while always giving back to my community through service, earning over 1,000 service hours helping out various organizations around Broward County. I will be attending Florida State University, and this scholarship will contribute to my education studying Public Health. Once again, thank you for supporting deserving young athletes who excel on and off the field.
Austin Gordillo
Personal Achievement Award
I want to say thank you for honoring me with the Personal Achievement Merit Award. I must say that it feels really good to know that all of my hard-earned efforts payed off. I have always had a passion and heart to help others. I just never thought that one day it would help me acquire funds to help me pay for college. Since birth I have had to fight hard to overcome many health issues one of them being physical therapy related. I plan to earn a degree in Physical Therapy so I can help rehabilitate others like I was. I know although there were so many applicants, I feel honored to have been chosen from amongst them. This will definitely open doors for me and help direct me along my path to success. As people today choose to become more active in sports, alongside come sports injuries and this is where I plan to help others in rehabilitating them back to health so they can get back to their active lifestyles. Once again thank you most humbly for your kindness and generosity as I begin the next part of. my academic career.
