2010-2011 Doug and Grace Laughlin Scholarship Winner: Tatiana Flowers
Tatiana Flowers is currently a sophomore at Pennsylvania State University, majoring in Animal Science. She comes from a family with educational aspirations and is working hard to become a veterinarian.
Tatiana’s grandmother set a great example for Tatiana in her pursuit of education. Born in Jamaica, she moved to England when she was 16 years old with hopes of becoming a nurse. Later, she migrated to the U.S. to further her nursing career. She remained a nurse during all of her professional life, and her story inspired Tatiana to pursue her own dream in higher education.
Tatiana did not rest when she was admitted to Pennsylvania State University; instead, she utilized the available resources on campus and applied herself in student leadership roles. She attributes her college career success to three factors: “partnering with an advisor, engaging in hands-on training and participating in Animal Science internships”.
During her freshman year, Tatiana joined a student-run philanthropy organization called THON, which is a year-long effort that raises funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. Tatiana later became a leader within THON and led more than 30 fundraising events from October 2010 to February 2011. Under her leadership, THON exceeded its initiative goal to raise $20,000 by more than half on her campus alone.
Despite Tatiana’s great abilities and dedications, she is deeply concerned about her family’s financial situation. Because of a recent lay-off, Tatiana’s father is not able to help with her college expenses. Tatiana’s mother works as a HR coordinator and struggles to pay for Tatiana’s cost of attendance.
“Last year, I won multiple scholarships from various organizations to help subsidize the cost of my education, but the majority of the scholarships are not renewable… I am hoping that my family’s precarious financial situation will not prevent me from achieving my goals and dreams of becoming a veterinarian.”
College Parents of America is proud to award the Exceptional Leadership Scholarship to Tatiana Flowers. We sincerely hope it will help to enable her to achieve her dreams.
