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Reshma Tharani, 21, is part of a new breed of community college student
Scholars Around the World
Two JKCF Scholars organize a 15-day study tour to Bolivia to explore the country’s political economy, peoples and rural development
Krista Jo Dusek
“My life experience has given me a deep passion to work with at-risk adolescent girls.”
- Alumni of: 2008 Graduate Scholarship Program
- Resides: Round Rock, TX
- Hometown: Honolulu, HI
- Age: 43
- Community College: Maui Community College
- Four-year College or University: University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Graduate School: The University of Texas at Austin
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Nonprofits, Police Officer / Criminal Justice, Politics and Diplomacy, Public Services
- Other Interests: Film / Photography, Honor Society, Nonprofits, Performing Arts / Theatre, Police Officer / Criminal Justice, Public Policy, Public Services, Sports, Volunteer Work
Biography
PROFILE: In 2005, Krista Dusek was awarded a Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship and credits the experience with several unexpected benefits. “Being named a Scholar has helped me be a role model for my children. The award alleviated the need for me to work while attending school and raising children; and it enabled me to pick classes that best suited my academic goals, as opposed to picking classes that met a rigid work schedule.”
Krista’s early years were marked by rigidity. Blazing a new path for herself as the first woman in her family to graduate high school—let alone attend college, Krista looks forward to a career in helping at-risk girls early in life to find their own voices.
INSPIRATION: Inspired by her own life and her children, Krista sees a need for supporting young women who face extra challenges. “Girls’ inability to critically think their way through society’s mixed messages places them at risk for depression, eating disorders, and abusive relationships.”
ASPIRATION: Krista intends to create alternative interventions to address the range of social issues facing girls. “I plan to implement a school-based program that will foster self-awareness and self-determination through education, culture, art, media, and positive representations of women.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: As president of the Bachelor’s Social Work Organization, Krista has been especially active in outreach to the homeless. She led an effort to distribute Easter baskets to over sixty homeless children; and operated a donation drive to provide tarps, waterproof containers, and flashlights to a homeless community that had been devastated by torrential rains and high winds.
ACCOLADES: Krista was a recipient of the University of Hawaii’s Albert J. Simone Presidential Scholarship from 2005 to 2007. She won the All-USA Community College Academic National Scholarship in 2005 and the Coca-Cola National Scholarship—New Century Scholar Award.
INTERESTING FACT: Krista fosters dogs that need a home.
Other Scholars Like Krista Jo
Amanda Bryant
Graduate Scholar
Bowling Green State University
Magni Hamso
Graduate Scholar
Columbia University
Milagros Aledo
Graduate Scholar
Harvard University
R. Charles Howe
Graduate Scholar
Harvard University