Introducing Some of Our 431 Exchange Superheroes!
Meet a group of our Fall Scholarship Winners—they are role models of profound courage and determination.
As much as we loved the Black Panther superhero movie in 2018, and look forward to the sequel next year, here at The 431 Exchange, we are blown away by some of our own superheroes—a group of young men and women who are among our 2021 Fall Scholarship Winners. Their unrivaled persistence, determination, and fortitude to gain a higher education—no matter what the obstacles—humbles us beyond measure, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to help them. (Note: You’ll be meeting more of our recent scholarships winners in future articles, too.)
Take Aubrey Sanders’ story. The Auburn University student is on track to graduate in 2023 with his bachelor’s in environmental design and a GPA of 3.89. But in 2021, Aubrey wrote in his scholarship application, “after fleeing an abusive household and (facing) a pandemic, I found myself homeless and without financial support. It was in that moment that I learned of the importance of personal finance and the pressures of educational expenses.”
Aubrey Sanders, 431 Exchange Scholarship Winner, Fall 2021
Aubrey went on: “I spent many months studying personal finance, career services, and public assistance programs. I kept fighting, for I knew that my dream of studying to become a public sector urban planner would require steady home economics. I have started my professional career as an Adobe Consultant at Auburn University and I have taken entrepreneurial charge as the owner of ASDesign, my own urban design consulting firm. Through professional perseverance and public assistance, I have acquired a steady home and now have adequate savings to sustain myself independently. I do not have much, but I care deeply for what I do have. … It has not been easy, but I am passionate about my career and financial security. … I now look to take responsibility for paying college tuition. Dollar by dollar, I save for the upcoming semester and pay off previous student loans.”
We celebrate Aubrey’s determination and bet you do too. Yet all of these students possess, like Aubrey, an extraordinary amount of courage, and we are proud to introduce them to you:
Anslee Boyd
Anslee is studying agribusiness at East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi, with a 4.0 GPA. She plans on transferring to Mississippi State University to complete her degree. “I am very passionate about, and it is important to me, for people to get a better understanding of where their food comes from and just how much work goes into getting food from farm to the table. Upon graduation, I plan to go into Precision Ag, advancing Ag technology and producing crops more efficiently, helping the whole country move forward in crop production.”
A congenital heart defect torpedoed Anslee’s plans to become a professional athlete or dancer. Devastated, she sought solace by spending time on farmland. “I fell in love with the animals, with the way machines work, with the way crops grow—everything about the industry intrigued me, she wrote in her application. “… It took me 14 years to find my passion, but when I found it, I knew the wait was worth it. … Without perseverance, the tears, the feelings of not belonging, the pain, it was all worth it because in the end, I found what I loved.”
Kaila Brown
Kaila is studying for her bachelor’s in aviation science at Texas Southern University in Houston. She is breaking new ground by entering the demanding field, as the number of women in it are small (for example, a 2019 University of Nebraska study found only 3 percent of women in North America were airline executives, and 1 percent pilot captains). Go Kaila!
Victor Bula
Victor is studying computer programming at Georgia’s Chattahoochee Technical College, with plans to graduate next spring and go on to a four-year university degree in the same field. He plans “to develop free, and open source software for digital artists at a nonprofit institute.” An aspiring digital artist himself, Victor spent five years on the road transporting pets, saving for his education, and just as importantly, overcoming his fears and doubts about pursuing his dreams.
Victor cites his mother, a native of Colombia who came to the United States, as his inspiration for her determination in becoming a board-certified teacher with a master’s degree. “I am my mother’s son, and I mean to prove it,” he says.
Alexis Campbell
Alexis is working on her bachelor’s in criminal justice at New Orleans’ Dillard University, with plans to go to law school. She has been working since 15, always holding two jobs. This brave young woman, who has faced mental health challenges, “had to become an adult before I could even be called one,” as she put it in her application essay.
“There were several things that led to my depression: having a single mother, an absent father, a household of more than 5 people, a grandmother with cancer, financial issues, and an alcoholic uncle. I am also a victim of sexual assault.”
Yet, she says, “… Here I am today, a junior in college maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Not only am I excelling in my academics, but I have also landed a job at a law firm in New Orleans, Louisiana, and I feel myself getting closer and closer to my goal each day. … The saying ‘you grow through what you go through’ is embedded into my heart because of how true it is. I believe that if I had not gone through as much, I would not have as much strength to push through and get to where I am today.”
Jose Congo
Jose is pursuing his master’s degree in geospatial systems engineering at Texas A&M Corpus Christi with a 4.0 GPA and plans to graduate next spring. His goal is “to provide consulting services in the geospatial industries in ways that I can help my immediate community address issues such as emergency response, and disaster management and prevention.”
Jose also wants to use his skills to help “determine where response centers are located, and what areas are best suited for building additional centers to assist people during emergencies such as flooding. I also want to be involved in risk assessment to determine where developments should or should not be built to minimize fatalities due to predictable natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides, and others.” Jose has been working for years to get to this stage in his academic journey, with thoughtfulness and a high level of commitment.
Amber Jones
Amber is at South College in Knoxville, Tennessee, working on her bachelor’s in health science with her eye on grad school and a master’s degree, with the plan of becoming a physician’s assistant. Amber is 35 with a 6-year-old son. She says, “I am proud of myself because I am a first-generation low-income student, but I am making it!”
Amber is also a court-appointed special advocate who attends court dates and supervises visitation for children in state custody due to abuse and neglect. She is also proud of doing such important work while also maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
Katherine Koppens
Katherine is in the Bachelor’s of Nursing program at Southeastern Louisiana University, with the plan to become an RN upon graduation and work in a New Orleans-area hospital.
Katherine’s life was upended at 10 years old when her father died of a massive heart attack right in front of her. With her mother’s support and by participating in her high school dance team, as well as on the soccer team, she made her way through—but it wasn’t always easy.
Katherine wrote in her application: “A source of joy and hope for me is that I know my father is proud of me. I know he is with me every day, guiding me to be my best self. I know that my mother is proud of me. As a teacher, she has fostered not only my academic growth, but my emotional and spiritual growth as well.”
Aniya Laster
Aniya is currently on track to graduate in December with her bachelor’s in elementary education from Mississippi’s Tougaloo College. “It has always been my passion to become an educator,” she wrote us in her application. “… but I often let doubt and fear hinder me. I have always been shy, and not very outgoing. I have always struggled to make connections with people because I didn’t talk much. However, all of that changed throughout the years.”
Aniya traversed multiple challenges to land where she is now, including battling extreme anxiety while attending a community college, as well as attending a second community college while simultaneously caring for a niece and working full-time. At Tougaloo, she has been handling a demanding course load, yet she has also pushed herself to join organizations such as the NAACP and Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She is currently a student teaching as part of her degree requirement. “I thought that I would be nervous, and that my anxiety would come back, but it has not. … I am proud of myself for never giving up and persevering although obstacles were in my way.”
Stephen Kyle Moore
An accomplished musician and educator, Stephen is working on his doctorate—called a Doctor of Musical Arts degree—at the University of Georgia, His major field of study is Bass Trombone Performance. A longtime volunteer for those in need, Stephen hopes “to continue that service as a university music professor, a professional performing musician, and a part-time music minister, successfully training and teaching the next generation of musicians and worshippers.”
Stephen’s work and school schedule is truly dizzying, in part because of his student debt and the fact that foundations that had committed $10,000 to his education have now backed out. But Stephen says he will, no matter what, keep on keeping on.
Maya Thompson
Maya is a freshman at Georgia’s Kennesaw State University, majoring in biology. Her plan is to go on and study veterinary medicine at Tuskegee University, and then complete a residency at the University of Florida to gain certification in the healthcare of aquatic animals. Maya’s goal is to work in an aquarium or zoo setting to participate in preventative health care.
Maya is a full-time student who also works. “The past year has been hard on me mentally and in turn, (and) affected my academics and relationships,” she says. “But, it taught me so much about myself and what I need to do to keep learning, to keep growing in my purpose, and to keep my head held high and fight for what I want.
“I am proud of myself because I kept my promise to my mother. I told her that I would make it to college and that nothing she did for me was in vain. Now I’m here … (taking) in the walls of a four-year institution as an Afro-Caribbean girl doing all that I can to reach my goals. I did exactly what I told her I would do, and I’m going to make her proud.”
Melissa Vasquez
Melissa is studying the sciences, with a focus on biology, at North Central Texas College, with plans to gain her associates degree and transfer to a university. She has been navigating a series of personal challenges with an extraordinary amount of courage. They include the sudden death of her partner in 2016 and a severe illness that her child is currently going through—Melissa had to leave her job to care for her. “I am proud of my resilience,” she says, and, Melissa, we are too.
We want to thank those of you who have donated to The 431 Exchange, thus helping to make scholarships possible for this outstanding group of young people. What we take away from their stories, and hope you do too, is the importance of cultivating the faith to keep going during hardship. To that end, we leave you with a few more words from Fall Scholarship Winner Aubrey Sanders:
“Throughout all of this,” the formerly homeless student wrote, “I am proud to have kept my love for school and my career. It excites me so, that I have flourished through hardships. I did not let the struggles interfere with my academic and career achievements. Never before have I found such passion for helping improve the human condition.
To donate to The 431 Exchange and help more deserving students change their lives and the world, please go to our Donate page.