Give a chance

Scholarship recipient Noah Kaufman has a passion for the business world, particularly finance and investment banking. He will attend the University of Michigan beginning fall 2019, majoring in business.

Noah graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with a weighted 3.84 GPA. He was an active member of the National Academy Foundation’s Academy of Finance, where he competed and placed in the Financial Team Decision Making event and the Start-Up Business Plan, and participated in the organization’s internship program. Additionally, he was a member of the DECA program and the local National Honor Society chapter, and served as Vice President for the Student Government Association. Throughout his high school career, he regularly volunteered for Parkland Buddy Sports, working with special needs children.

Scholarship recipient Nick Boyer hopes to achieve a PhD and pursue his dream of working for NASA, performing research in the space sciences and aspiring to discover the next planet. He is currently a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying physics/math.

Nick graduated from MSD High School with a weighted 5.2 GPA, ranked in the top 3 percent of his class. He was an Astronomy Club member, a National Merit Commended Scholar, and recipient of the National AP Scholar award and several Outstanding Student awards. An accomplished athlete, he also served as captain of the cross country and track & field teams.

Scholarship recipient Brianna Valli hopes to attend medical school and become a neuropsychiatrist, researching the commonality between neurology and society and fulfilling her passion for helping others. She is currently a freshman at Northeastern University studying behavioral neuroscience.

Brianna graduated from MSD High School with a weighted 4.7 GPA. She was a National AP Scholar award recipient, a peer counselor and a member of the HOPE Sunshine Club and varsity cheerleading team. She also served as the head volunteer for the Department of Neurology at Cleveland Clinic for over a year, where she gained valuable hands-on patient experience.

Scholarship recipient Sawyer Garrity has a passion for helping people find their voice through music. She will attend the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami beginning fall 2019, majoring in music therapy/songwriting.

Sawyer graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with a weighted 4.61 GPA. Following the tragedy on February 14, 2018, she co-wrote an original song titled “Shine,” which was performed during CNN’s Parkland town hall. Witnessing the song's impact, she co-created the ShineMSD Foundation to help the community find ways to express themselves and heal through art. Through ShineMSD, Camp Shine was created. Camp Shine uses art to aid in recovery and is available at no charge to MSD survivors. She plans to continue this work throughout college.

Scholarship recipient Gabriel Oceojo has a passion for helping others and a love of building, with his sights set on two potential career paths – medicine (more specifically, surgery) or engineering. He is currently a freshman at the University of Florida double majoring in electrical engineering and pre-med.

Gabriel graduated from MSD High School with a weighted 4.9 GPA, ranked in the top 7 percent of his class. He was an active member of DECA, the National Academy Foundation Academy of Finance and the varsity boys’ soccer team. He also donated more than 460 hours of community service to several organizations, including “The Building Roots Project,” where he taught Spanish and tutored impoverished Hispanic children. His involvement strengthened his desire to help those who are less fortunate.

Scholarship recipient Sara Imam hopes to become a professor and share her love of math with future generations. She is currently a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley studying applied mathematics.

Sara graduated from MSD High School with a weighted 3.7 GPA, ranked in the top 10 percent of her class. She was a National Honor Society member, DECA officer and competitor, Mathematics Honor Society officer, Calculus Team competitor and recipient of several mathematics awards. She was also the founding president of C.E.O (Current Entrepreneurship Opportunities), which promotes entrepreneurship in the community. In addition, she donated 489 hours of community service, most notably to Distressed Children & Infants International and Glenforest STEM.