We are excited to announce this year’s award winners! Meet our 2013 180 Medical Scholarship Recipients!
What is the 180 Medical College Scholarship?
First, you might want to know more about our scholarship opportunity. At 180 Medical, we offer an annual $1,000 award to college students who are living with either a spinal cord injury, spina bifida, transverse myelitis, an ostomy, or a neurogenic bladder. In addition, we like to see our applicants demonstrating values of integrity and compassion in their lives.
You can learn more at www.staging.180medical.com/scholarships.
Meet the 2013 180 Medical Scholarship Recipients
We’ve got quite an amazing group of recipients this year, all of whom have shown a great passion for their goals, a desire to help others, and unflinching optimism in the face of adversity: Julia Guzdial, Christian Migliarese, Adam Rose, Hannah Saucier, and Zachary Vasseur. 180 Medical is proud to acknowledge their achievements and support their future endeavors and goals.
Julia Guzdal
Julia was born with spina bifida. Doctors said she would never walk. However, Julia’s parents helped her beat the odds by getting her a small walker early in her life.
By the time she was 3, she made her first steps without the walker, and now she uses only a cane for balance.
Despite her difficulties, she has persevered. Today, she hopes to become an inspiration for others with spina bifida. She has volunteered in the Diversity Program at her school while also completing a summer internship at BioMedical Systems. This fall, she’s beginning classes at Fontbonne University.
Christian Migliarese
Christian was also born with spina bifida.
When his older brother showed him a video of Anthony Robles, a young man who was born with only one leg, wrestling at Arizona State, he was instantly inspired to try wrestling at his high school. Despite having to walk with forearm crutches, Christian let the coach know he wanted to work just as much as his teammates.
Christian continued on the team throughout high school for four years and achieved his first two wins in the fall of his senior year. He has been chosen to receive the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Medal of Courage and will be inducted this fall.
An inspiration to many, Christian is also active in many school clubs, such as the Ambassadors Club and Diversity Club, and he also spends many hours volunteering, including acting as a camp counselor and mentor to young adults with physical disabilities at a one-week sports camp each year. He hopes to continue his passion with sports broadcasting when he begins attendance at Texas Christian University this fall.
Adam Rose
Adam was one of 1,300 children in the USA who were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 1998, just after his 4th birthday. During treatment with chemotherapy, his body suffered a rare and life-threatening reaction.
He survived, and as of 2002 is cancer-free. However, he is now a quadriplegic (paralyzed from the waist down). Despite this unfortunate consequence, Adam remains an optimist. He chooses to look at this as an opportunity to help others who may have similar challenges.
At age twelve, he began hand-cycle racing. He has now competed in 17 marathons while winning two! Adam is also active with the Disability Network of Michigan. He regularly raises funds for the cause, while mentoring other newly injured individuals. Adam loves being able to connect with others and show them how much life has to offer. His goal is to get a Bachelor’s in mechanical engineering while attending Kettering University this fall.
Hannah Saucier
When Hannah was 12 years old, she had a diving accident, leaving her a C5 quadriplegic. In other words, she is now paralyzed from the neck down with limited movement in her arms, hands, and torso.
Despite this event, she realized that how she chose to respond to her new situation would ultimately shape her character. She decided she wanted to take life by the horns and forget the physical limitations, focusing on academia. Since that time, she has continued to achieve outstanding grades, received numerous awards for leadership and high grades, taken many AP courses, and participated in clubs, tutoring, volunteering, and academic competitions. Now she has set her sights on achieving a Ph.D. in science, beginning with an undergraduate this fall at Davidson College.
Zachary Vasseur
Zachary Vasseur has always been an athlete. He loved motocross from the very first time he tried it. Eventually, he progressed with the sport to compete at a national level.
One day, he hit a high jump on his bike, and the impact from his hard landing broke his back, causing a spinal cord injury on his T-11 and T-12 vertebrae. He had less than a 1% chance of ever walking again. However, he was determined not to let his injury hold him back.
Indeed, he walked across the stage at his graduation with a walker and leg braces. He loves mentoring others in chairs and hopes to be a positive role model for others. Zachary is pursuing a degree in Engineering at the University of Cincinnati this autumn.
Each one of these inspiring students received $1,000 to help further achieving their goals in education.
Learn More About the 180 Medical College Scholarship
To learn more about our annual scholarship program or to download an application, check out www.staging.180medical.com/scholarships.
