Meet the 2022 Scholars

"2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the AbbVie CF Scholarship. As we celebrate this milestone, we look forward to continuing to recognize more students pursing their educational goals. Please share your future ambitions in the Cystic Fibrosis community, professionally and personally."

Furthering my education at Cal Poly in the Graphic Communications department, would allow me to refine and enhance my social, artistic, and linguistic skills to more effectively advocate for myself and others in the CF community. My short-term goals are to begin a professional portfolio and connect with professional designers in my community to learn how to take my designs from planning to print. I have many long-term dreams, including writing and illustrating a children’s book, creating artistic content for charitable organizations like the CF Foundation, and helping to design business logos and marketing materials. That is the best thing about art– it can be anything and can be applied to nearly every element of life. I am so excited to see where my art takes me! This scholarship will alleviate the burden of trying to work to pay for tuition, while studying. It will allow me to focus and prioritize my health and art. I truly cannot express the weight that would be lifted through this scholarship. After severe health complications during middle school and early high school, I spent a great deal of time in hospitals and hooked up to IV lines in hopes of eradicating a rare mycobacterium. During this physically and mentally exhausting time, I realized that despite my trials I could still find purpose in helping others, even if in only small ways. I want to help those within the CF community as well as others with invisible diseases, find their voice and empower them to advocate for their mental and physical health. As a 15-year-old, I opened my card business, to try and raise awareness for Cystic Fibrosis. I have been blessed to appear on radio shows, speak in college classrooms, mentor new parents of CF children, and speak at private fundraisers. I want to explore further opportunities to share about the unique realities of Cystic Fibrosis with future educators, to ensure that all children have the support they need to be successful. I leave high school with a 4.2 GPA, having been ASB (all student body) president, National Honor Society Member, hundreds of service hours under my belt, and simply becoming a better human. I fought my way through high school managing the demands of a chronic disease and I will continue to do so in college. We can achieve any goal through a relentless combination of drive, determination, and hope. Furthering my education at the college level is something I want to prove to myself that I am capable of. Capable of not just getting through it, but learning, growing, and lifting up others throughout and beyond college.