Athena Gordon 

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I, Athena Gordon, currently attend Wellington High School and I am a junior. My family members are my motivators and are always pushing me to be the best version of myself. They continue supporting my goals and aspirations while reminding me that my happiness is the number one most important thing. I am forever grateful for them. In the future, I aspire to get my Bachelor’s degree in computer science as I am quite interested in becoming a computer programmer. I love being able to give back to my community and I have completed over 230 hours of community service at the Neil S. Hirsh Boys and Girls Club, here, in Wellington Florida. My tasks included feeding the children, helping with homework, cleaning and other assigned tasks. I still partake in community service at the Club.

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This scholarship is a true blessing for me as I dream of being able to attend a prestigious college. For a sixteen-year-old that is working, while juggling seven classes, dual enrollment, and maintaining a social life, this scholarship has already helped me with PSAT test preparation and has taken some of the burdens off of my family’s shoulders. I hope that with the help of this scholarship I will be able to improve my learning skills and be more prepared for my upcoming SATs and ACT tests.

 Jennifer Roker 

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My name is Jennifer Roker and I'm a soon to be a first-generation college student.  My goal is to attend either FSU or FIU for college. I have always had a passion for helping people. Whether that means being a lawyer, therapist or someone that assists others in general. Recently, I've decided that I want to be a teacher.  I hope to be a thriving teacher straight out of college, and from there work towards my lifelong goals of becoming a therapist.  I have always been that person that can't settle with the bare minimum, so the same goes for my academic levels. 

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I want to reach for the stars and be my best self by any means possible. I have always been a hard worker with an independent personality. I have a goal of owning my own house by 30, and with that goal in itself comes commitment and the work ethic needed to save enough money to make that happen.  In middle school I developed an appreciation for having my own money when I earned $50 every 2 weeks for cleaning my grandmother’s room. Last summer I worked as a junior counselor for Boys and Girls Club, and after that I began working as a cashier for Winn Dixie. I feel the need to have my own money will forever be within me and it is sort of my motivation to be better than I am because with progress comes prosperity. 

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The Judge Hatchett Scholarship can greatly benefit me in reaching the academic level of testing needed to get into my dream college. This scholarship will provide me with all of the help and testing tools I may need in order to take and pass the PSAT, ACT and SAT with scores that will catch any college by surprise. The scholarship also provides me with help that many other students don't have access to, such as the tutoring sessions that can help me gain a greater understanding and possibly better scores on the tests needed to get into college. This is an opportunity to better myself and my academic goals.

Anaya Washington

 

I am Anaya Washington and I attend Inlet Grove Community High School in the Medical Academy. I am the middle child of 6 siblings and a first-generation college student. My goal is to become a veterinarian by attending Tuskegee University. After becoming a veterinary specialist, I plan to impact my community by helping animals and educating people by protecting them and their pets from different diseases. I would also like to be a part of food safety measures at restaurants, sustainable initiatives with plants and water supply issues in my community.

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I believe The Honorable Joseph W. Hatchett was thinking of the importance of giving back when he said “Let’s look at where the vaults of opportunity are and let’s do our job of intentionally opening those vaults of opportunity and taking the door off the hinges.” I have over 400 community service hours from volunteering at my local Boys and Girls Club. Through my impact on today's youth, I plan on giving my peers the connections through my community at my Boys and Girls Club, hosting activities for today's youth and creating more safe spaces. 

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Receiving the Joseph W. Hatchett Vaults of Opportunity Scholarship will help me accomplish more of my goals and what I want to do in college. It will provide academic support and necessary tools such as tutoring and study materials to assist me with achieving my goal of a high-test score. Earning a high score is important to me because it will place me in a position to earn significant scholarships such as Bright Futures and other merit-based scholarships that will aid me in earning a degree debt-free. With the college application process becoming more competitive each day, earning a high score will also provide the opportunity to attend the college of my choice. This scholarship can help me by not having to worry about having a full-time job to help me pay for my schooling and other supplies needed. It can also help me by bettering my education to colleges I may not have access to. 

Saniya Woods

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My name is Saniya Woods.  I was born and raised in Belle Glade, Florida. I just turned 17 on November 6th. I am currently in my junior year of high School and I attend Glades Central Community High School. I am the 3rd oldest out of eight kids. Some of my hobbies include dancing, running track, playing volleyball and watching TikTok to learn new dances. 

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Some goals I have for myself are to graduate high school with my high school diploma and to get accepted into my dream college which is FAMU (Florida A&M University). This is my dream college because of their phenomenal nursing program and I really want to become a pediatric nurse. I started taking medical classes when I entered my freshman year of high school and I enjoyed it ever since. I also love that it is a HBCU and I feel that I will have a sense of belonging there and I will have support from my peers as well as professors being that we may have come from similar backgrounds. Once I graduate college, I hope to become a pediatrician or work in the NICU in a hospital.

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I am very grateful for this scholarship. One way this scholarship can positively influence my education is because I won’t have to worry and stress my mom about how we are going to pay for these different tests (PSAT, SAT, SAT) and tutoring for the tests. Also, this scholarship can help me focus on my studies better and I won't have to worry myself about getting a part-time job to help with mom out with additional costs. This scholarship can also help me by scoring higher on these tests which can benefit me by getting into the college of my dreams or even get into a better school that I probably never would’ve imagined.  Because of my financial situation, even attending college was a big concern for me. Thankfully this scholarship has now lifted that burden off of me and my mother’s shoulders.

Luigi Mertune

 

Hi, my name is Luigi Mertune and I am currently a sophomore at Fort Lauderdale High School. My family is my motivation, always encouraging me to strive for excellence and supporting my goals and dreams. They remind me that my life is meant for greatness and I'm thankful for their support, and for that, I am immensely grateful.

 

Looking ahead, I have my sights set on earning a degree in hardware or software engineering, fueled by my passion for becoming a hardware engineer. Giving back to my community is important to me, and I've dedicated over 75+ hours to community service at the Nan Knox Boys and Girls Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From helping the staff to assisting with homework, I'm committed to making a positive impact.

 

This scholarship will help calm my financial doubts about how I could study, allowing me to pursue my dream of attending a prestigious college. Despite juggling eight classes, dual enrollment, and maintaining a social life, the scholarship has alleviated some financial burdens and provided resources for PSAT test preparation. With this support, I aim to learn skills that will better me and excel in my SATs and ACT tests.

Isabelen Padilla Matos

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Hi my name is Isabelen Padilla Matos, and I am a 2023 recipient of the Joseph W. Hatchet Vaults of Opportunity Scholarship. My family does not have much money to go toward college preparations or anything like that so I will be using this scholarship to help cover the costs of my tests, materials, and courses.

 

With the help of this scholarship, I plan to be the first in my family to attend and graduate from college. My family and I are beyond grateful for this opportunity because they did not all have resources like the Boys and Girls Club to help them reach their goals.

 

Thank you for awarding me this scholarship, I will take full advantage of it and score high on my tests. 

Emele Dishmay-Saldana

 

My name is Emely Dishmey-Saldana, I am a sophomore at South Broward High School. I am very motivated for many reasons and one of the biggest ones is family. Moving to another country and leaving my mom behind has truly inspired me to become a better me every day, I feel as if I must push myself to be better so that all the time we have spent apart, in the end was worth it. Even though I have a great support system at home that consists of my dad, my stepmom and my siblings, not having my mom has really pushed me to be better. My family has always been supportive of the things I do, and I will always be incredibly grateful for them.

 

In a few years I will hopefully be done with high school and on the way to getting a degree in either medicine or law because I am very interested in helping people even if it is in a court or in the hospital field. Being in a household full of medical students I have learned to have compassion with people and to appreciate the people who risk their lives every day in order to save ours. Another thing I enjoy is being able to give back to my community one way or another I currently have 123 community hours earned from helping out at the Boys and Girls Club and a “Latinos In Action” class where we do beach clean ups every other Saturday and attend elementary schools to help assist teachers. All of these things have helped me develop a bigger sense of empathy and kindness.

 

This scholarship will help me so much in being able to end my last 2 years of high school with high ACT scores all while being 15 and working a part time job and trying to maintain a social life.