Scholars in the News
Reshma Tharani, 21, is part of a new breed of community college student
Samantha Pratt
“Throughout my years in junior high school, I learned to develop a sense of pride in my accomplishments. This desire for success carried over into my high school years. I have been striving my entire life to make something of myself for the sake my family and my future. My life has truly been one of struggle, but that has served as my motivation.”
- Program: 2011 College Scholarship Recipient
- Resides: Memphis, TN
- Hometown: Cleveland, OH
- Age: 19
- Four-year College or University: New York University
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Psychology / Therapy, Psychology, Child Clinical Psychologist
- Other Interests: Volunteer Work, Music (Piano), Athletics (Track and Field), Writing Poetry, Reading
Biography
Highlights of Young Scholar Experience: Being selected as a Young Scholar helped Samantha “Sam” Pratt achieve many personal successes by aiding her materially, but the program also influenced her in a much more direct way. “Without my educational advisers at the Foundation, I would be an entirely different student and person,” said Samantha as she prepared to graduate from high school in Tennessee. At the top of Samantha’s list of Foundation-sponsored activities was the Civic Week Education program in New York, a program in philosophy at the University of Kansas, but most important was allowing her to attend Saint Agnes Academy in Memphis, an historic all-girls high school where she thrived as a student and in many extracurricular activities.
Profile: Sam Pratt is a winner and a leader. Not only for the Saint Agnes Academy track squad, but a winner in the classroom and a leader around campus. The dynamic young lady with the kind and caring personality had to overcome a great deal to succeed, and she did it with grace. Despite tuition support from the Foundation, Sam had to work thirty hours a week at a local movie theater, on top of a rigorous academic schedule, track practice and the many other activities a high school student faces. She has done all that has been asked of her and so much more ...all with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Big things await young Samantha in college and beyond.
Inspiration: Sam’s seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Variano, was most influential in her life. “She was the teacher who helped me identify my love for writing, which led me to my hobby of writing poetry ...and she was also the teacher who recommended me for the JKCF Scholarship.”
Aspiration: She loves to work with and help children wherever and whenever possible and that is one of the reasons she wants to become a child clinical psychologist. That goal was reinforced one summer when she volunteered at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
Making a Difference: On a personal level, the achievement Sam is most proud of is staying motivated despite her circumstances and being named a National Achievement Finalist of the National Merit Program. On campus at Saint Agnes, she started an awareness club/support group called Project Teen Race to raise the issues of diversity in her school and help others find self-acceptance.
Accolades: In addition to the aforementioned honor of being a National Achievement Finalist, Sam was a member of the National Honor Society at Saint Agnes. She also was inducted into Mu Alpha Theta, an elite mathematics honor society and was recognized by the International Thespian Society. And during her senior year in a Mock Trial competition, Sam was awarded the “best attorney and witness” in two separate mock trials.
Interesting Fact: A star on the Saint Agnes Academy track team, Samantha can run the 300 meter hurdles in under 49 seconds.
Other Scholars Like Samantha
Kayci Baldwin
College Scholar
Harvard University
Mayra Cruz
College Scholar
The George Washington University
Lance Chapman
Graduate Scholar
University of California-Los Angeles
Vesta Grubb
Undergraduate Transfer Scholar
University of Houston