Sophomore in interior design, DAAP What does your scholarship mean to you?

My Turner Scholarship has shown that there are really no limitations regarding race and physical ability. The Turner Scholarship allows people to do whatever they want to do with their lives.

Has your scholarship impacted your education?

I come from a very large family with limited resources, so without this scholarship there was no way I would have been able to attend college at all, much less DAAP.

Do you have post-graduation plans?

Graduation is far off since I am a sophomore, but I definitely know I would like to move out west once I graduate because there are more interior-design opportunities.

What experiences has UC opened up to you?

I have plans and high expectations for my co-op experiences. I would really like to co-op in France, which would be perfect for me because I speak fluent French. I should be eligible for co-op next summer, and the Turner program helps students find co-ops abroad. That is definitely something that would not have ever been on my radar without the scholarship support.

Now I have a job at Starbucks on campus, which has allowed me to balance work and classes. Because I'm a commuter student, trying to balance a full course load and studio time would have been beyond challenging if I had to fit in a job away from campus.

What experiences has your scholarship opened up to you?

All of the Turner scholars have monthly meetings, and freshmen meet weekly. These meetings and other programs make the Turner Scholars very close. They call students who have the Turner Scholarship the "Turner family." The freshman class was really close, and we did everything together.

As Turner scholars, we are really involved in fundraising. We did Relay for Life, fundraisers for Haiti relief efforts and Habitat for Humanity. I doubt I would have pursued charitable programs like that if I weren't in the Turner program. That's definitely a good feeling.