2019 Winner
Congratulations to the winner of the 2019 Justice for All Scholarship, Alexa Steele! Here is what she had to say about her accomplishment:
My name is Alexa Steele and I am from King George, VA. I graduated from King George High School in May 2018. I am currently living in Alexandria, VA where I am a full time student at Northern Virginia Community College majoring in Business Administration. I plan to transfer to George Mason University to get my Bachelors Degree. My interests include painting, playing ping pong and tennis, and spending time with my dog, Buck.
I am so honored and very excited to be receiving the Massey and Associates Justice for All Scholarship! This scholarship will help me tremendously in continuing my college education.
2018 Winner
Statement:
“I absolutely appreciate this contribution to my educational funds. It is very much needed being that I am a triplet and my parents do struggle a bit to pay for all of us to go to college. Once again, thank you, and I will do my best to keep up with my studies and achieve my goals.”
At Massey & Associates, we do our best to help others strive for their goals. All too often, higher education can be extremely costly for students. With our 2018 Justice for All Scholarship, we wanted to reward a student who has demonstrated that although they have encountered hardship, justice was served through their perseverance and who has committed themselves to enrich their community. We are proud to announce Sydney Belcher as the winner of this $1,000 scholarship. Her essay, regarding her battle against sickle cell disease and her determination to become a nurse practitioner, was truly inspiring. For more information on this year’s selection process and scholarship criteria please visit our scholarship page.
Bio:
My name is Sydney and I am a musically gifted, extremely smart triplet girl with a genetic blood disorder. So yes, my life is pretty awesome. Despite my many setbacks, I plan on graduating from Georgia State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in the Science of Nursing, and become a nurse. Later, I will take online class, working towards my Master’s Degree and becoming a nurse practitioner. Of course, there is no way to reach any goals without help and inspiration. My mom and dad are my biggest helps and greatest inspiration. My mom has always helped me write beautiful essays, such as this, and succeed in any English class. She has taught me how to be a strong, responsible woman and is always there when I need her. My dad usually helps with the more mathematical side of things and answers almost every question I have. He has been there to protect me and also help me with my social life. Individually, these two are amazing. If there is one more thing they have taught me, it is teamwork. They are the best teammates I have ever seen, besides Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. They have helped me realized how two people are supposed to work together for good despite their differences.
My parents want me and my brothers to stay active in our community. Not only does this look impressive on any college application, but it provides skills for later on in life. I am currently in Senior Beta Club and have been in this organization since 2015. In Beta Club, we do several community service projects, including blood drives, canned food drives, and working for Toys for Tots and the Operation Christmas Child Project. At my church, we take in homeless people from the streets of Atlanta and take them into our church. We feed them, give them new clothes, let them shower, and invite them to our church service. I have been doing this since 2014. Since last year, 2016, I have been in Project Blossom, a branch of the Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth Foundation. This is designed to bring in mentors to teach middle and high school students the important values of life. Also since 2016, I have been in the Afro-American Cultural, Technological, Scientific Olympics, or ACT-SO. This branch of the NAACP was created as a way for black high school students to display their talents nationally and receive awards and scholarships for them.
My parents have done their best to push me to be the best that I can be, and I think I’ve done that a few times. I’ve won the spelling bee three times, in 2011, 2013, and 2014. Since 2007, I have received the highest academic award at my school every year. In elementary and middle school, that was the Principal’s List, and in high school, that is the Headmaster’s List. In 2017, I received an award for the highest Bible average.
As mentioned earlier, community service is important to me and my family. I have worked at In His Name Food Pantry, which collects canned foods and packages them together with inspirational Bible verses and distributes them throughout the state of Georgia. I’ve also volunteered at Operation Christmas Child, a branch of Samaritan’s Purse. Throughout the year, OCC collects boxes full of toys and essential necessities, such as toiletries. Around Christmas, they then visit third-world countries which do not experience Christmas, and gives out the boxes along with small books about the Word of God.
The several things listed above seem like a lot, and they are. Of course, there are more things that I do for myself. I have played the piano for the past four years, and am continuing my endeavors. I also do several artistic projects, including drawing, sculpting, and my favorite, painting. I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember. Being that I have two athletic brothers, I also decided to pick up a sport. My dad played at a younger age, and my brothers also play so I decided to join in and play basketball. I’ve been playing since 2012 and in 2013, joined an official team. In 2014, I received the Most Valuable Player award on the Varsity team and was added to the All-Star Varsity Team roster. I have traveled several places, including New York, Myrtle Beach, SC, Cancun, Mexico, Orlando, Florida, and Jamaica. I don’t have a personal favorite yet because I plan on going to more places. As said in my first paragraph, I have big dreams to graduate from Georgia State, become a nurse, and later a nurse practitioner. I also plan on having a family and continuing to serve the Lord in all that I do. In conclusion, this is Sydney Nykeia Belcher summed up into five paragraphs.