In the fall of 2017, we introduced our very first scholarship program for graduating high school seniors and college students. We invited students to share the details of an enriching life experience that significantly altered or impacted their perspective and how they would use this gained insight to educate the next generation either as a teacher, mentor or friend.
Emily, a high school senior, discovered her passion for participating in philanthropic efforts at a very young age. In the fifth grade, she started her own food drive to help out her community food pantry. Determined to get her neighborhood involved, Emily decided to ask for a canned food donation in lieu of candy on Halloween night. In her first run of “Cans Instead of Candy,” she collected an impressive 400 cans.
Now in her 8th consecutive year of the drive, she views it as one of the most rewarding experiences of her life. We were honored to select Emily as one of the recipients of our Vionic Shoes Scholarship and are excited to see what she has planned next as she finishes up her high school career. Read our interview with Emily below!
Congratulations on being selected! Could you tell us what this scholarship means to you?
I would like to have at least a master’s level of education so that I will have the training and the skills necessary to be outstanding at my job. Obtaining a master’s or doctorate level of education will come with hard work, dedication, and funding. I am hoping to offset the cost of my education through hard earned scholarships. This Vionic Scholarship will provide me with the stepping stone I need on the path to furthering my education and truly making a difference in my community!
We loved hearing your story, thanks so much for sharing it with us. If you could launch any non-profit organization tomorrow, what would it be?
I have always had a positive relationship with the people who work at the food pantry that I have given my donations. This positive relationship has made me want to possibly work at a food pantry or start a food pantry of my own. I am also someone who cares passionately about the environment and have noticed some National Parks that do not have the proper recycling systems or even any recycling containers. I would like to possibly start a nonprofit that promotes recycling and provides businesses, National Parks, and schools with the proper recycling systems.
How did you hear about us? What made you decide to apply for the Vionic Scholarship?
I have signed up for multiple scholarship websites on my path of offsetting my education through hard earned scholarships and on one of the websites was a link for this scholarship. I was immediately intrigued about the basis of the scholarship and the possibility of winning a pair of stylish shoes! I had heard of Vionic Shoes before but never owned a pair. I also believed that my food drive would be a great story to talk about. For those reasons I decided to apply for the Vionic scholarship.
How will having this scholarship help you as you finish school and/or achieve your next goal?
My next goal is earning a bachelor’s degree from the college of my choice. This scholarship will allow me to finance my college experience, and I am very grateful! I have worked for the last two years of high school. While I will continue working in college, this scholarship will allow me the time to be involved in community service and college leadership organizations.
We can’t wait to send you some Vionic goods! Any particular Vionic styles catch your eye?
I am very excited to receive Vionic merchandise! I love ankle boots for both their comfort and style. I love working out and spending time outdoors and so I also frequently wear athletic shoes. I was thrilled to see Vionic has an extensive athletic shoe selection that had multiple styles and patterns that caught my eye. I am very honored to receive this generous scholarship, and I hope my story inspires the Vionic community as well as people all over the world!