2109 SUCCESS STORIES
Alondra Gittelson
Medical Interest Award Winner
Thank you for selecting me as the recipient of this amazing award and recognizing my passion and interest for Medicine! I am very grateful for this distinction and will forever remember Dr. DeSimone and Mrs. DeSimone and what they have done for me to continue my education at the University of Central Florida. In college I plan to study Biology with a focus in Biotechnology and aspire to help those who need it the most. I also will continue playing Basketball, a sport that has taught me many lessons I will use throughout my whole life. I am very excited for what my future holds, and most importantly being able to one day give back to my community.
Leah Barnes
Academic Achievement Award Winner
Thank you for the opportunity to share my experience as just one of many student-athletes. Gymnastics is not very common, especially since high school gymnastics teams are rare, so I very much appreciate the ability to represent my sport through this program. Though awards are not what life is about, I am grateful for the Academic Achievement Award because it will help me further my education to be able to contribute to the world on a larger scale. I will be attending the University of Florida as part of the Honors and University Research Scholars Programs in pursuit of a degree in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology. I hope to implement this education to become a pediatric physical therapist and aim to transform lives like Dr. and Mrs. DeSimone have done for so many years.
Jacob Wucher
Team Fellowship Award
I’m deeply humbled and thankful for being chosen by Dr. Al DeSimone and the Charity for Champions team to receive this award. I plan to continue my education at Penn State where I will strive to become a great industrial engineer. Playing football my whole life I learned to push my self and others to be better on and off the field. This scholarship will help me pursue my future at Penn state, the scholarship has also shown me that hard work truly does pay off. Thank you once again Dr. DeSimone for all you’ve done with Cypress Bay and for selecting me to receive this award.
Jasen Vest
Team Fellowship Award Winner
Thank you again for selecting me to be one of the recipients of this scholarship. This is going to be very helpful in paying my tuition at Washington University in St. Louis. I plan on studying environmental science as this area of study most interests me, and I view it as being the most pressing issue currently. I also plan to minor in music related studies. It was an honor to be chosen for this opportunity.
Taylor Gulla
Personal Achievement Award Honorable Mention
In the fall I plan to attend Florida State University and hope to further my major in clinical professions by being accepted in their nursing program. My goal is to become a CRNA (Certified Nurse Anesthetist) in the future. Thanks to Dr. DeSimone I was fortunate enough to shadow him during surgery which helped to influence me in what I want to do in the future. This scholarship has given me the gift of opportunity to help follow my dream and achieve it. I am extremely grateful and blessed to be able to receive this wonderful opportunity.
Josh Darius
Goodwill Scholarship
Profound thanks for your contribution towards my college education Dr. DeSimone. Your act of kindness will ease some of the financial burden I will have to face. This scholarship will enable me to pursuit a degree in Sports Business Management. Along with my educational studies, I plan on continuing my soccer career at the University of Dayton in Ohio. I am very grateful to you and the “Charity for Champions” committee.
Davis Major
Medical Interest Award Honorable Mention
I would like to thank you for selecting me to receive the Medical Interest Award Honorable Mention. I am very appreciative of this scholarship. This scholarship will be used to help me pursue a degree at The University of North Florida. I hope to continue playing lacrosse for the club team there. Thank you again to everyone involved. I promise to work my hardest and to make you guys proud that you selected me for this scholarship.
Thank you so much again
Samuel Durkee
Personal Achievement Award
The Charity of Champions Award recognition means a great deal to me as a student athlete as not only do I believe in striving for personal excellent on and off the field, but I also greatly enjoy giving back to the community, both as an academic tutor as well as a coach for Youth Football and other sports. Particularly as my father passed away suddenly two and a half years ago, I am extremely fortunate to have received tremendous support from the greater St. Thomas Aquinas High School community and outstanding charity organizations such as Charity for Champions. I am truly grateful for and honored to be a recipient of the Charity for Champions Personal Achievement Award.
Emma Alonso
Academic Achievement Award Honorable Mention
I am extremely thankful to be receiving this scholarship from Charity for Champions. Next year, I will be attending Oxford College of Emory University where I will get the opportunity to not only be a student, but an athlete as well. I am very grateful for being recognized for all the hard work I put into my studies. I plan on majoring in business and eventually obtaining a post- graduate degree. This scholarship is a culmination of my hard work in all facets of my high school career. This scholarship will help lessen the financial burden that tuition will place on my family. I am beyond grateful to Dr. Al DeSimone for creating this opportunity for student- athletes.
Julia Grobman
Athletic Achievement Award
I am so incredibly humbled to have received the Athletic Achievement award. I want to thank both Dr. and Mrs. DeSimone for granting me the opportunity to share my story of battling adversity. Throughout my softball career, I have sustained countless injuries. Without the help of Dr. DeSimone, I would not have found the passion and drive to work harder both on the field and in the classroom. This scholarship will go towards my future home: Yale University, where I plan to study environmental law. Once again, thank you, Charity for Champions, for your generosity.
Carly Steinlauf
Academic Achievement Award
I am truly honored to have received the Academic Achievement Award. I am thankful for this award and will be using it to help pursue my dreams and education. This award has justified all the hard work and time I have put into both my academic and athletic career. This fall I will be attending Johns Hopkins University where I will be playing Division 1 lacrosse and plan to study medicine. Thank you again for recognizing me and many other students for all our hard work and effort.
Ashley Ruf
Medical Interest Award
Thank you Dr. Al DeSimone for granting me the opportunity to succeed with your generous scholarship through Charity for Champions. I am truly honored to be recognized for the hard work I put in as a student athlete and plan to continue my passion for swimming through an intramural college team. I am so appreciative of the help this scholarship will provide me as a pursue a career in medicine at the University of Florida. The way your character shows through your hard work and giving back to the community is an inspiration that I will always have with me as I continue my education and service on a collegiate level. With this in mind, you showed me that grit and determination are the key concepts to success. I know that I will be able to achieve anything that I set my mind to and would like to thank you for helping me do so.
Erika Casadevall
Extraordinary Community Service Award
I plan on attending Florida Southern College and playing Division 2 soccer in the Sunshine State Conference. I’m blessed to have received this award because it will allow me to reach my future goals, knowing I am being supported by Dr. DeSimone to always do my best.
Alyssa Fletcher
Extraordinary Community Service Award
It is an honor to have received the Charity for Champion’s Extraordinary Community Service Award. The support that is given to student athletes is undeniably generous, and I am humbled to be among other student scholarship recipients to use the award to further my academic success, as well as my ability to continue helping the community in which I reside. In the fall of 2019, I will be attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor as a student in the Ross School of Business. While studying business administration, I will also look to run on the club team and stay active in the community through volunteer efforts. My passion for learning and staying active will shine through in my next steps of education, and it is with this organization that I can stay ambitious, be kind, and remain positive. Thank you for providing me a chance to reach my future goals, and for inspiring me to be a “champion.”
Amber Grieve
Medical Interest Award Honorable Mention
I’ve been playing softball since I was 9 years old, and now I will soon be 19. Athletics have been the most influential part of my life as it as shaped me into the person I am today and taught me many life lessons along the way. I am honored to achieve this award in Medical Interest as I plan to be an orthopedic surgeon. As competitive sports come to an end, I am moving on to bigger and better things. I plan on attending University of Miami in the fall and will be studying exercise physiology on a pre-med track. I see hard work and success in my future and I thank Dr. DeSimone for being a part of my journey!
