CHC Funds Scholarships for Children of CHC Employees

Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 CHC College Scholarship Program. The awardees earned scholarships to help cover their educational studies. The program is geared towards undergraduate students attending college or university in associates or bachelor’s degree programs during the 2020-2021 academic year and are children of or children in the care of CHC employees.

The winners were chosen at random during a drawing held on Facebook Live. The following are this year’s scholars with an excerpt from their essay submission.

Aiden Annino, Johnson and Wales University

Aiden Annino

“This scenario we have been thrown into is uncharted territory for all of us, and pushing through such a challenge was difficult. However, I feel it is important for everyone to keep in mind that it was much more difficult for several demographics of people, in a range of ways that the average healthy individual will not understand.”

Archana Mandava, Case Western Reserve University

“If there is anything that I have learned through this pandemic, sacrifice can be tough but just as powerful and effective as a cure for the virus. The mental health cost of our sacrifice is big, but if it means saving ONE life, then it is a sacrifice I am willing to make as a citizen of America.”

Briana Mercado, Barry University

Briana Mercado

“There needs to be a change in this world that prevents further injustices. Better laws should be put into place to fight systematic racism and inequality, so society is able to trust the government again.”

Cameron Moore, Tunxis Community College

Cameron Moore 2

“The greatest lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic is that people need to start trying to protect themselves while also protecting others.”

David Sullivan, Central Connecticut State University

David Sullivan

“Although I have experienced disappointments in the past, never quite as significant as the disappointment of having my senior year as I knew it taken away due to COVID-19. I continue to learn through this experience, that life has and will continue to have hurdles and challenges to overcome.”

Fiona Hynes, Bard College at Simmon’s Rock

Fiona Hynes

“While there are more commonplace answers to the question of ‘who in your life has been your biggest influence?’ such as ‘my mom,’ ‘my teacher,” ‘my coach,’ etc., my answer is more complicated. The truth is, my biggest influence is my horse, Quaid. Quaid has taught me what unconditional love and trust look like. Quaid has taught me perseverance beyond all odds.”

Gabriela Disla Suarez, University of Connecticut

Gabriela Disla Suarez

“Throughout all this COVID-19 crisis, I struggled to find the good in all the deaths, suffering, lock downs, and our forced new way of life. However, I began to notice that life is extremely short and we can be gone at any second, so we should appreciate and be grateful for what we have every single moment. This is when I realized that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught me a great lesson, which is to appreciate the little things in our lives before either they or we are gone.”

Gina Rizzuto, Central Connecticut State University

Gina Rizzuto

“Essential workers during this pandemic were looked up to for their hard work and dedication. Some nursing students have gotten scared by this, but I have seen it as a great experience to realize the journey of becoming a nurse will help others and help overwhelmingly in our society if another pandemic should occur.”

Hannah Gitman, University of Connecticut

Hannah Gitman

“I know from first-hand experiences that all the doctors in the world are not nearly enough to cure a disease and help that one person who you pray for every day. Maybe I am naive, but perhaps I could be that one doctor who the world needs to complete the puzzle. And I know my parents believed that same.”

Heaven Rodriguez, Bay Path University

Heaven Rodriguez

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught many lessons to the society, but the biggest lesson is to savor moments with family and the land you live on.”

Jayden Koski, University of Connecticut

Jayden Koski

“Covid has taken the lives of many and it made us realize that we must appreciate the people around us. It also separated us from our peers due to quarantine. It made us more independent. Although COVID-19 created many issues, we also can take away a few lessons that will better ourselves for the future.”

Kaya Czwalinska, University of New Haven

Kaya Czwalinska

“Feeling any emotion is a catalyst for change to happen. No matter whether it’s disgust, hatred, or love. Feeling disgust motivates you to change your environment to be more welcoming. Feeling anger shows you what you’re passionate about and where your boundaries lie.”

Kennedy Porter, Albertus Magnus College

Kennedy Porter

“Racism is not an easy talk to have. Although having the power to say that the conversation makes you uncomfortable and you want to be exempt from the conversation is privilege.”

Liam Greaves, Siena College

Liam Greaves

“The greatest lesson that COVID-19 has taught me was that I take a lot for granted, like my job because I now realize that some people are being furloughed or even fired because of this pandemic, or even just going to the store.”

Louis Beauchamp, Middlesex Community College

Louis Beauchamp

“The single most important societal problem we face in the United States as a country is healthcare. Not only is this issue of high importance to the advancement of the nation, but I also believe that healthcare is the single most important issue in any person’s life because it is necessary in order for someone to access better living conditions and higher life expectancy.”

Natalie Rivera Roman, Tunxis Community College

Natalie Rivera

“There can be some significant lessons to be learned from this Covid-19 pandemic. A less obvious, yet nonetheless important, lesson is that the digital divide is complicating efforts to respond to the challenges society faces. So, the painful example from the pandemic is that finding ways to cross the digital divide is rapidly growing into a matter of life and death.”

Nathaniel Gross, Southern Connecticut State University

“The greatest lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic is that we must be better prepared to handle massive outbreaks. Throughout the past decade and probably longer, experts have warned that the U.S. was not prepared to handle a large-scale epidemic.”

Rodrigo Mariano, Emerson College

Rodrigo Mariano

“The biggest problem in today’s day and age is the problem of job displacement. In a country where jobs are already disappearing due to technological innovation and the issue of automation, COVID-19 has only escalated the rate and scale at which this is happening, resulting in unemployment benefit applications reaching into the millions every week.”

Sheldon Gargano, Southern Connecticut State University

Sheldon Gargano

“I could personally say I have many influencers in my life, but my biggest influencer in my life would have to be my mother. She has done more for me than anyone else has done and I have seen her up and downs and she has seen mine; she always knows what to say even when I do not let her commentary/thoughts in right away.”

Stephen Pawlak, University of Connecticut

Stephen Pawlak 1

“It seemingly is human nature to search for a work-around, a scapegoat, or a way out of whatever trouble we find ourselves in; however, while we are infatuated with life being easier and our messes cleaned up for us, it is those who are responsible and take action that grow and fight to change the world.”