Past Recipients

Gnoulelein Tako has been involved in a variety of service activities participating as a LDC Student Staff member with the American Red Cross, serving veterans at the VA Hospital and serving as Co-President of the Black Student Union club at his high school. When recounting his service at the VA, Tako said he aimed to “attack the issue of the under appreciation for those who fought for our country.

Gnoulelein is using his 2019 scholarship to help fund his undergraduatestudies atthe University of Utah where he’spursuing education in mechanical engineering, computer science and business. Whenever I’m there I realize how little we give back to the people who gave their all for us, and I want to give back as an individual to them.” Through his involvement with the Black Student Union he hopes to educate, inform, and change the masses on the issues of the underrepresented. Stand with all that are not seen despite the struggles. From the homeless youth, to the women from the march, and the Black communities at the events he attends, he hopes to help their issues, and have them be known.

 

Jalen Rasmussen is currently in his freshman year at Grand Canyon University studying Marketing and Advertising. He has always had a love for business and the impact that businesses have on the community around them. On his scholarship application he wrote, “If I can be continually independent, able to provide for myself, and in a healthy position in my life, I should always take initiative to help others to lift them up and give them the necessary push forward they may need. I also think businesses should act accordingly and should maintain prominent levels of social responsibility. In working for a business and doing marketing activities, I want my focus to be on community outreach and development. Businesses often have the resources and recognition necessary to execute bigger projects and reach larger groups of people. In receiving this scholarship, I would be able to put the money directly into my educational costs in getting my degree. It would help limit the amount of money that I owe my institution and the overall amount I would need to take out in loans. This scholarship would help me continue down my path of getting my degree, graduation, and working for a business I can stand with to have them be the face of my service in the future.” 

 

Jalen has participated in a variety of service activities including LDC Student Staff Member and Co-Chair of Service to Armed Forces for the American Red Cross, as well as serving on Hillcrest’s Peer Leadership Team. Through his service experience Jalen has learned “how to truly love myself, accept myself, and do the same for those I interact with. This increased my relationships with my family, my community, my school, and everyone else I encounter.”

Karime Garcia describes herself in her application as a “Latina teenager and first generation, college-bound student. My culture is who and what I am. I am from the soil of beautiful Mexico; a country as dangerous as it is stunning. Education has always been so valuable to me. Going to college has always been a plan of mine. My parents have always told me they would do anything to make it happen and they work night and day just to give my siblings and I everything. I don’t want my parents to worry about paying for my education because they have already sacrificed so much for me and I plan on paying for college for scholarships…I have worked hard my entire life for this chance and now, I am at the doorstep of the next chapter in my life story.”

Karime has a never-ending passion for volunteer work, non-profit organizations, and generosity. When asked what issue(s) does your volunteer service address, her response tells you everything you need to know about the type of person she is. She wrote “Overall I think they address the importance of education in a way. Educating yourself about social topics, leadership skills, the Red Cross, the Ronald McDonald House, my school’s Key Club, social skills, and the problems in your community. I decided to get involved in these different volunteer opportunities because I wanted to help others as much as I could but part of it was selfish because I wanted to feel good; I wanted to know that I was doing something for others and not just for myself and feel good about it. Though as I continued to work with these organizations, I came to realize the bigger impact of not just my work but what these organizations do and the changes they are making.”