2017 SUCCESS STORIES

William Fierro

Athletic Achievement Award Winner

Being recognized for the Al DeSimone’s Charity for Champions was one of my greatest achievements throughout my high school career. Winning this award made me feel as if all my hard work throughout these four years paid off. It means a lot to me to have my efforts of pushing myself to the limit, both with athletics and academics recognized. I have been playing soccer my entire life, and have always treated my education as a top priority. With the help of this scholarship, I will attend the University of Central Florida, and hopefully become a Civil Engineer. Thank you so much for recognizing me for this amazing scholarship and everything you do for all these athletes.

Sydney Grobman

Athletic Achievement Award Winner

I am  so incredibly honored to have received the Athletic Achievement award from Dr. and Mrs. DeSimone’s Charity for Champions. For several years, I have battled adversity to enhance my skills on the softball field and receiving recognition from such a well-respected organization is very gratifying. Dr. DeSimone has greatly contributed to my success by getting me back on the field after sustaining multiple injuries. Not only has he made it possible for me to continue playing the sport I love, but he also led me to discover a new love: sports medicine. Receiving this scholarship will allow me to pursue my dreams of attending medical school in the future. As I head off to Yale in one piece, I greatly appreciate everything the DeSimone’s and Charity for Champions has done for me and my family.

Jordan Kron

Athletic Achievement Award Honorable Mention

I would like to thank Dr. DeSimone and Mrs. DeSimone for awarding me the Athletic Achievement Award Honorable Mention. I am extremely honored to receive this scholarship as recognition for my hard work. This scholarship will go towards furthering my education at Tufts University. At Tufts, I will be a member of the volleyball team and I plan on double majoring in biology and psychology. My goal is to one day be a sports psychologist to help athletes improve their game. Once again, thank you so much for your support.

Vincent Blasucci

Athletic Achievement Award Honorable Mention

I discovered this scholarship thanks to the Athletic Department at Somerset Academy. Once I found out I decided to apply because I knew I had a good chance at earning something thanks to my athletic accomplishments throughout my High school career. Later on, at Senior Night at my school I was excited to hear that I received scholarship for my athletic accomplishments. This will help me toward my education and my college career especially my freshman year covering for my books and other essentials. I plan to receive a degree in political science and minor in history and criminal justice. My goal in life is to become a United Sates Senator and help fix the problems our country encounters. The school I will be attending is the University of Southern Maine in Portland and Gorham, ME.

Elio Marcano

Academic Achievement Award Winner

I am extremely grateful to Dr. DeSimone and Mrs. DeSimone for awarding me the Academic Achievement Award, and for believing in me and my dreams. I am very inspired by Dr. DeSimone for his unending dedication to my community and for giving back to it so generously. Seeing the impact Dr. DeSimone has had on my community, has inspired me to one day carry out this legacy wherever I reside. This award has endless value to me, as it stands as a token of my hard work, and as a big-hearted gift from the Charity for Champions. Furthermore, it has inspired me to work even harder to pursue my dream of becoming an Aerospace Engineer at Purdue University. Facing a substantial sum of debt from attending Purdue, it has also brought me hope and confidence that my future will be A-OK, as there are always others, like Dr. DeSimone, out there looking out for you. Once I obtain my bachelor’s in Aerospace engineering, I hope to work at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to work on the up and coming Space Launch System.

Emily Dolce

Academic Achievement Award Honorable Mention

I am truly honored to be a recipient of the “Charity for Champions” scholarship. It means a lot to be recognized for my academic and athletic handwork and dedication. This fall I will be attending the University of Florida and I plan to major in Biology on the Pre-Med track. My dream is to become an Oncologist. Also, while studying at UF, I plan to strengthen my passion for water polo while playing on the club team. Thanks to the generous support of Dr. DeSimone my dream has become more realistic and for that I am so grateful.

Jose Fuertes

Personal Achievement Award Winner

Dr. Al DeSimone, I want to take this opportunity to thank you. I was humbled and honored to be chosen and I will assure nothing but the best on my part. I appreciate you listening to my story and understanding the hardships I had to overcome this year. With your scholarship, I will now be able to further my studies at UF in order to accomplish my goals in life. One thing you can be assured is that I will pay it forward as you do with me. Thank you for everything.

Megan Horwitz

Academic Achievement Award Honorable Mention

I first found out about Al DeSimone’s Charity for Champions through my high school athletic director. Because I am a student athlete, it seemed like the perfect scholarship for me. After taking the time to learn more about the organization, I was inspired by the vision of the charity. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to apply for the Charity for Champions scholarship and I am so honored to have been selected as the recipient of the Academic Achievement Award Honorable Mention. I’d like to thank Dr. DeSimone, Mrs. DeSimone, and everyone else involved in this wonderful charity. This scholarship will contribute to furthering my education beyond high school. I will be attending Stetson University this fall and will be majoring in Molecular Biology with the intent of continuing on to medical school. My journey as a student athlete will also continue as I will be playing Division 1 tennis at Stetson. I’m so thrilled to be furthering my academics and athletics. Thank you, Charity for Champions, for your generosity and positive impact in our community!

Drew Krumper

Team Fellowship Award Winner

I want to express my sincere gratitude for the honor of being a recipient of the Charity for Champions Team Fellowship Award. I was thrilled when my name was announced at the Cypress Bay senior awards ceremony. Receiving this scholarship will help reduce my financial burdens as I continue pursuing my education. I am proud to begin my undergraduate career at Florida State University where I will be pursuing a Business degree.  Florida State University offers one of the finest programs in the state, and I consider myself fortunate to be able to attend. My educational pursuits would not be possible without your generous support. Thank you for enabling this opportunity!

Baikisu Ariori

Personal Achievement Award Honorable Mention

I’d like to thank Dr. DeSimone for providing support to a young lady’s dream. Donovan Bailey, a successful Canadian track and field athlete, once said, “Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.” In the fall, I will be attending the illustrious Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University to study Agricultural Science Pre-Med. It takes a village to raise a child and I am thankful that Dr. DeSimone is a part of my village. I can now achieve higher heights and accomplish more without the worry of many financial burdens. I do hope that when I get as far into my education as Dr. DeSimone did, I can give back to my community as well. It honestly does take a good heart to do everything that Dr. and Mrs. DeSimone are doing. I can’t thank them enough for this scholarship.

Francisco Cano

Team Fellowship Award Honorable Mention

Before anything, I would like to thank Mr. DeSimone and his wife for this award. It was an honor not only to be awarded this scholarship, but also to meet the person behind this great organization. This scholarship not only represents money that will help me graduate from college debt free, but also a personal incentive that pushes me to always strive for more. I will be attending the University of Central Florida, where I plan to major in Economics, and hopefully play Division 1 football. Once again, I want to say thanks to you to Mr. DeSimone for believing in me by awarding me this scholarship.

Jordany Chery

Team Fellowship Award Honorable Mention

First off, I would like to give special thanks to Dr. DeSimone for this award. I was truly happy to hear that I was entrusted with this fund and deeply appreciative of receiving this award. The money that I will receive will benefit my freshman year of college immensely. This is such an honor to receive and be recognized for Personal Achievement Award. This fall 2017, I will be attending Broward College, and within the next 2 years, I hope to further my education at Florida State University. This award is one of the many accolades I received this year and I cannot be more grateful for it.  Speaking with you Dr. DeSimone was wonderful, and to know someone cares about my background and giving me a helping hand. Thank you again for your kind-hearted support. This scholarship award will help me reach my goal of attaining my Bachelor degree in Criminal Justice and will not go to waste!

Maya Fernandes

Artistic Achievement Award Winner

Thank you for awarding me the Charity for Champions Artistic Achievement Award!  I am very grateful for this huge honor – it is an amazing feeling to be recognized for my achievements as a student-athlete-artist! This fall, I will be attending the University of Cincinnati to study Industrial Design, a major that allows me to continue to combine my passion for design/art with my STEM interests. This scholarship will help with the cost of going to an out-of-state school and will enable me to pursue my dream of becoming an industrial designer. Thank you for your kindness and generosity!

Rachel Geller

Sports Medicine Interest Award Winner

I am very grateful to have won the Dr. DeSimone Sports Medicine Interest Award.  For the past four years at Cypress Bay High School, I have been a cheerleader and was the captain of the Varsity Basketball Cheerleaders for two seasons. The passion that I have for cheer fueled my interest in sports medicine, I spent last summer conducting 7 weeks of research at the University of Florida in the College of Medicine and learned how research furthers scientific advancements.  I will be attending the University of Florida and plan to become a physician. My goal is to conduct research, in the field of sports medicine, where I plan to take research from bench top to bedside and support athletes. This scholarship will allow me to achieve my goals of majoring in biology and become a sports medicine physician.  

Sean Drexl

Team Fellowship Award Honorable Mention

Thank you so much for this scholarship and the opportunity it will provide me. I plan on majoring in movement science and pursuing a career in physical therapy at the University of Charleston. This recognition allows me to pursue my education even further, and not having to worry about financial burdens, enabling me to focus on my education and my athletic goals even more. I hope to return to Florida once I get my degree so I can aid volleyball players in their endeavors and grow them as players. I’m setting very high goals for myself, and I believe that I can achieve them, especially through the recognition received by Al DeSimone’s Charity for Champions. Thank you very much for this opportunity.

Kelcey Maldonado

Sports Medicine Interest Award Honorable Mention

I truly appreciate being a recipient of the Charity for Champions award for pursuit of education in pursuit of Sports Medicine and Exercise Science. I have been an athlete and fitness enthusiast since Middle School, having played multiple years of Basketball and Flag Football and working as a Wellness Specialist  and Lifeguard/Swim Instructor at the YMCA during my High School Years. The scholarship award was a wonderful recognition of my efforts throughout my high school years. As a college student, the scholarship money will help support my efforts to focus on my studies while being able to afford the necessary resources to help ensure my efforts are successful. Again, I am appreciative of the Charity for Champions Scholarship Program and for the help that it provides to aspiring students such as myself.

Daniel Hubert

Team Fellowship Award Honorable Mention

Being selected as a recipient of the Team Fellowship Award Honorable Mention is an incredible honor in which I was very happy to receive. This award helps me turn my dreams into reality, I was able to go to an out of state private university and further not only my academic career but my baseball career! Without scholarships such as this one I wouldn’t be able to attend my university. This coming fall I will be declaring my major in business and a minor in political science. I have plans after graduating to go in the fire academy and hopefully become a firefighter!