As a competitive runner, Amiya Sharp knows how to push herself to the finish line. Now a freshman pre-med student at UMass Boston, she’s majoring in biochemistry—a tough major, but one Amiya intentionally chose to make sure shes's prepared for medical school. Amiya hopes to become a pediatric…
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Blog Archive: Applying for Financial Aid
On February 12, 2018, when Mersadies Shantie was 12 years old, her mom suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. That night, still stunned from the loss, Mersadies left her home in Mooers Forks, New York, and moved to Sheldon, Vermont, to live with her dad, stepmom and three adopted sisters. “It was…
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VSAC Counselor Tia Stillman and Orwell student Olivia Scher bonded over their goals and drive to help people – as well as being people of color in a small Vermont town. As a kid, Olivia Scher was one of very few people of color in tiny Orwell, Vermont. One other person was her elementary school…
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Eleanor Placey of the Newbury High School Alumni Association and VSAC VP Tom Little, with the historic Newbury School and church in the background. Newbury High School alumni enable local Oxbow students to fund their future with the Newbury Alumni Memorial Scholarship. Eleanor Placey, a longtime…
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GEAR UP helped Halley Riley-Elliott of Mt. Holly pursue her passions—from diesel shop to pageant stage Every September, VSAC celebrates National GEAR UP Week to make more Vermont families aware of the resources offered through the Vermont GEAR UP program. This federally funded program, which VSAC…
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Over the last two decades, John Dell’Anno of Shaftsbury had built a career as a carpenter. Employed by a company out of Manchester, John worked on high-end residential job sites, and found plenty of work in towns like Stratton, Windham, and Dorset. But in 2014, after suffering a few accidents (one…
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When Mimi Duong was applying to college during her senior year at St. Johnsbury Academy, she found herself at a bit of a disadvantage, since her parents, who had emigrated to Vermont from Vietnam, weren’t totally familiar with the American college admissions system. When we last spoke with her in…
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Jessica Neilson of Rutland, Emma Nadeau of Derby, and Ben Hulett of Shaftsbury are benefitting from a $5,000 loan repayment incentive to launch their careers and stay in Vermont. A brand-new student loan repayment program, designed to incentivize recent college graduates to stay in Vermont, is…
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When David Richardson was seven years old, his world turned upside down. His relatively comfortable middle-class household, supported by two parents who both held good jobs – his mom as a substance use counselor, his dad as a corrections officer – changed, literally, with one wrong step. His father…
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When Brody Moran works with kids – either as a substitute teacher at Cabot School in his hometown during his college breaks, or this summer as a counselor at Turtle Island camp – he never asks a child what they want to be when they grow up. “Some people love asking that question, because it provokes…
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