Category: Rising Stars
We’ve found “16” articles in category archives for “Rising Stars”
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Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Personalized Education Program, Rising Stars, Step Up For Students
Poetry in motion: The tale of one homeschool family using the PEP scholarship
TAMPA – The poem is a father’s message to his son, that everything they do together will be a memory someday. I’m going to love and hold you until you’re grown for in a blink you'll be on your own. Barbara Hamilton wrote the poem for her son, Ronald, when he was in the seventh […]
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The sky is the limit: How an ed choice scholarship turned Aaliyah into a straight-A student
DeLAND, Florida – A black sweater, white shirt, and a red tie lay on Aaliyah Tape’s bed when she returned home from a summer vacation spent with family. She knew what they were: a private school uniform. “Oh, Lord,” she thought. It was a message from Aaliyah’s grandmother, Cat Gracia, that would drastically change Aaliyah’s […]
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The option of an education choice scholarship will expand Joly's options for college and beyond
TAMPA, Florida – It was the first day of freshman year and everyone at Tampa Catholic High School was a stranger to Joly Masoud. Classmates. Teachers. Administrators. Scared? Yes, Joly admitted. “I was just trying to find my way,” she said. Joly found her way to a front-row desk in Hannah Taylor’s Eastern-Western Heritage history […]
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Journey's journey includes volleyball, an education choice scholarship and now college
PINELLAS PARK – The workers involved in the adoption process in Guatemalan called her Viaje, which translates to English as Trip or Journey because her adoptive parents from Idaho had settled on the name “Journey” for the toddler. What’s in a name? Well, life has been a journey for Journey Hinz, who graduated this month […]
Learn MoreJaydis is a 'powerful example' of the transformative impact education choice can have on a student
ST. PETERSBURG – Jaydis Kincade sat at a picnic table in the shade next to the vegetable garden maintained by his classmates at Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg and set up a chess board. Out came the rooks, the bishops, the knights. The pawns, the king, the queen. He aligned them in their correct […]
Learn MoreA medical emergency, a call to 911 and a fireman's promise ignited Za'Niya's dream to be a firefighter
BY ROGER MOONEY NORTH MIAMI – Zabrina James had trouble breathing because of the intense pain in her left knee caused by a botched surgery nearly five years earlier. She couldn’t walk, which meant she couldn’t drive herself to the hospital, so she instructed her daughter to call for help and coached her on what […]
Learn MoreThe sky may not be the limit for this Step Up For Students scholar
BY ROGER MOONEY MIAMI – Julian Vazquez was 6 months old when he flew for the first time, traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to London. He said he remembers some of the trip. Five seconds, maybe. Impossible, said his parents, but nearly 18 years later, Julian is sticking to his story. He can trace his […]
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Her home life may be chaotic, but Kaylia has Ivy League-potential and big plans for her future
BY ROGER MOONEY MARGATE, Florida – Kaylia Powell’s home life is in a constant state of flux. At times, she has lived apart from her mom and separated from her brothers and sisters. She has lived with friends and, for a few months this year, at the home of a teacher. She has lived with […]
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The bus ride to school is long but the opportunity for a Catholic education is well worth the trip
BY ROGER MOONEY PALM COAST – Every school day at 7 a.m., a small bus rolls to a stop in front of the rectory of the Catholic church in Crescent City. Waiting to board are a handful of students, including Jesus Martinez-Cruz and his little brother, Christian. They are headed on a 50-minute ride to […]
Learn MoreOf dreams, sacrifices and an education choice scholarship: How one high school grad has her sights set on becoming a doctor
BY ROGER MOONEY MIAMI – Nery Perez-Valdes wanted to become a doctor, but life got in the way. She fled Cuba for Miami with her mom when she was 11 and found herself working at 14 to help pay the bills. Nery would become a single mom and for a long stretch worked two jobs […]
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