2019 SUCCESS STORIES
Eryn Ward
Team Fellowship Award
I am extremely thankful for being chosen by the amazing team and staff of Charity for Champions and Dr. Al DeSimone as a recipient of the Team Fellowship Award. This generous award will allow me to further my education at University of South Florida, where I will be attending the Honors College in pursuit of a degree in Integrated Animal Biology. With this degree, I hope to attend a veterinary school, achieving my lifelong dream of becoming an exotic and wildlife veterinarian.
Allison Jimenez
Team Fellowship Award
I want to thank Dr. Al DeSimone and the Charity for Champions Team for awarding me the Team Fellowship Award. Receiving this prestigious award truly meant the world to me, and I am so grateful that this organization saw something in myself and all of my academic and community accomplishments. I will be continuing my education at the University of Central Florida in the fall and will be majoring in Journalism, where I hope to use the skills I have acquired from both cheerleading and my community service to bring about important news to others. The recognition I received from Dr. Al DeSimone and his organization has given me the motivation to follow my dreams, and achieve my goals. Thank you!
Kylie Marek
Goodwill Scholarship Honorable Mention
I am so blessed to have received an award by Dr. DeSimone and his staff that has helped me continue being a student athlete at the collegiate level. In the fall I will be attending Tusculum University. I will continue to work hard in the classroom and on the field playing lacrosse and to pursue my dreams to become a nurse.
James Tobin
Personal Achievement Award
My future plan is to become the CEO of world renowned fashion company in the high end retail market. I plan to start my journey buy taking classes at Broward College and then transfer to an art and design school to further my artistic career. This scholarship will help me pay for the first year classes and allow me to save money for my next step into achieving my goals in life.
Jonthan Van Arsdale
Personal Achievement Award
Thank You to the DeSimone family as well as the Charity for Champions Staff. This scholarship will go a long way in helping me stay away from student loans as I attend Cornell University. Thanks again.
Jason O’Keefe
Medical Interest Award
First and foremost I would like to personally thank you for selecting me as the recipient for the Charity for Champions Medical Interest Award. In the Fall of 2019, I will be attending Florida State University where I plan on studying Sports Medicine, while I pursue my dream of participating in athletics on a collegiate level. Being recognized for this award gives me confidence knowing that local professionals within my desired educational path support my goals on and off the field. I hope that one day I am given the opportunity to become a practicing physician and help kids grow and overcome challenges within their lives. Once again thanks to Charity for Champions and you Dr. DeSimone for selecting me for this prestigious honor.
Calvin Stephens
Athletic Achievement Award
In the coming year, I will be attending the University of California, Berkeley to study mechanical engineering. This has always been a dream of mine, and I am excited for the opportunity to research topics I am passionate about and work in a field that consistently interests me. While I am extremely excited for what lies ahead, I will always miss my time playing football. From forming a brotherhood with my teammates to being selected as varsity captain, the memories I had on the football field will last for the rest of my life. Even if I was never a recruited athlete or highly ranked player at this time, the recognition I received as a recipient of the Athletic Achievement Award has made me more than proud of my athletic and academic success in high school. By receiving this award, I now know that others find the work and effort I have put in during these last four years meaningful and inspiring, even if I felt that way the whole time. While it will be new entering a school in which I will not be a member of a football team to support me and help me excel, I still remain excited for the challenge ahead and look forward to seeing what I can do.
Emma Greenbaum
Academic Achievement Award
I can’t begin to express how thankful I am to be awarded such a generous scholarship. Throughout my entire high school career, I have worked so hard to balance my heavy academic course-load with practices, games, and all other things required when playing varsity sports. This recognition makes all of that hard work worthwhile. For the next four years, I will be studying at the University of Florida with a major in psychology. I plan to go to medical school with the hopes of working in psychiatric. This scholarship will help fuel my education, and allow me to immerse myself in campus life in every way possible. Once again, I am so thankful for this honor. Knowing that there are people who believe in me and want to see me succeed, is the most amazing feeling and I will work hard everyday to make those people proud. I am so thankful for the generosity and I cannot wait to see where the next four years take me. Go Gators!
Charles Eaton
Athletic Achievement Award
For the next four years at Valdosta State, I will run track and cross country and attempt to walk on to the basketball team. I plan on majoring in business and possibly studying abroad as well. I am extremely thankful for this scholarship because it will help open many new doors that will potentially create countless opportunities that I will be able to take advantage of at Valdosta State.
Harrison Haber
Personal Achievement Honorable Mention
This Scholarship means the world to me personally because during my Junior year at North Broward Prep, Dr. DeSimone performed surgery on my right shoulder that ended my season. To come back my senior year and win the state championship as a Captain was all due to the efforts of Dr. DeSimone, and for him to be able to recognize my hard work during this time on the ice and in the community is very special. I am currently entering my Freshman year at the University of Florida and I plan on majoring in Business Administration while playing for the UF Hockey team. I will gladly keep in touch and credit Dr. DeSimone for much of my future success and it is an absolute honor for me to receive this recognition !
Zayne Centi
Team Fellowship Award
I am extremely honored to have been selected for this scholarship, it shows how much work goes into being a student athlete. My future plans are to play professional baseball, it has been my dream my entire life. I also will study biology in college so I could eventually become a physical therapist.
Isabella Piso
Medical Interest Award Honorable Mention
Thank you very much for selecting me to receive the Honorable Mention Scholarship in the Medical Interest Award category for Dr. DeSimone’s Charity for Champions scholarship program. This award will help finance my attendance at The University of North Carolina-Asheville, where I will be a Pre-Med Major and play Women’s Soccer team. Thank you again, very much for selecting me for this amazing scholarship, and helping my dreams come true.
Maxwell Cusnier
Personal Achievement Award
I am grateful to have received the Personal Achievement Award. Being a student athlete is very important to me and I strive to perform to the best of my abilities in both areas. The countless hours of hard work were well worth it when looking at where it can lead me in my future. I graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School with a 4.94 cumulative GPA while dedicating a large amount of time to football for all four years of high school. My dream is to be an orthopedic surgeon. This scholarship will help me get one step closer to accomplishing my dream. I will be attending Florida State University and will be majoring in Biology. Thank you for this generous award.
