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Past Winners of the
Dale E. Fridell Memorial Scholarship
4th Quarter, 2008 Winner
Melanie Shapiro
Melanie Shapiro is graduating from the University of Rhode Island summa cum laude with a B.A. in Women's Studies and completion of the Honors Program. She will attend Roger Williams University School of Law in the fall to become a human rights lawyer. Currently, she works as a co-chair of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Human Trafficking and has done extensive research and work fighting sex trafficking, and hopes to continue this work.
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3rd Quarter, 2008 Winner
Zac Parkhill
Zac Parkhill is a senior marketing major at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. After marketing internships at Heinz and PNC the past two summers, he will be joining the IT Advisory practice of KPMG in Pittsburgh upon graduation.
more...
 1st
Quarter, 2008, Winner
Liz Kramer
Empire State College
My name is Elizabeth Kramer. I am a re-entry mentally challenged women
enrolled at Empire State College Center for Distance Learning, to obtain my Bachelor’s Degree with a concentration in Computer Information Systems. I am the mother of four, ages 22, 19, 16, and 5. My husband is disabled and unable to work. This leaves me to be the sole supporter for the family. My eldest two children have severe mental disorders and have made it a challenge for me to raise my household as “normal” as possible.
It’s been many years since I attended school, but it is necessary for me to change my career for something more challenging, stable, and with a better income. Even though it may be difficult due to my disability, ESC has been patient and willing to work with me so I can fulfill my dream to finish college. It was a complete and pleasant surprise to me that I was chosen to receive the Straightforward Media Fridell Scholarship award. Expenses, as everyone can relate, has been difficult. This honor will be put to good use to purchase the supplies necessary to complete my courses that are not covered by government funding. I want to thank
the committee for choosing me for this award.
more...
3rd Quarter, 2007 Winner
Brett Smith
Cedarville University 
Because I plan to attend seminary after college, it would be very
problematic if I graduated from college with significant debt. This
scholarship could be one more link in the chain that will pull me up out of
potential dept so that I can afford to go to be the first person in my
family to attend any graduate school. Though it will be a great privilege to
attend graduate school at all, if I can make it out of college with minimal
debt, I should be able to go to graduate school full time and become a
pastor, Bible translator, writer, philosopher (if I continue on in graduate
education), judge (if I continue on to law school), or whatever I will be
sooner and with less of a financial burden than I might have had. The
earlier I enter my career, whatever it may be, the more time I will have to
serve my fellow man through that career.
more...
 2nd
Quarter, 2007 Winner
Eva Montes
UC-Berkeley
I was born in Modesto, California and I am the first one out of my extended family to attend a 4-year university. I became interested in the sciences during high school when I was in the Health Careers Academy and took courses that embarked my interest. This is why I chose to major in Molecular Environmental Biology at UC Berkeley and pursue a career in science. I am interested in human health and hope to one day become a physician in my hometown. I want to be a part of targeting diseases that affect our human population with a focus of easing the pain of one patient at a time but I also want to be active in my community where the role of information is a priority. I am currently finishing my last year at UC Berkeley and am aiming to become the best candidate I can be for medical school. I am also striving in remaining active in my community by volunteering at the Suitcase Clinic and the Student Health Sports Medicine Clinic at our school health center.
I am interested in working particularly with disadvantaged communities because I believe in the aspiration in making health care more accessible. This is why I believe preventative and primary medicine are important in our communities. It is important to bridge the gaps between the patients and health care providers when delivering health care and I believe that if I can somehow be a part of that, then these positive relationships will carry on to changing the faces of health. This is how I hope to contribute to the world.
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 1st
Quarter, 2007 Winner
Jinaa Lane
College of St. Catherine
For more than 15 years I have been employed in positions that would keep me in a state of vulnerability and survival mode. I decided I owed it to myself to go after my childhood dream of having a career in medicine. Since I was a child I've had a love for medicine. My fervor for medicine was strengthened as I listened to many women who faced surmountable barriers as they searched for a physician that could give them resolution as to why their bodies were ailing them. They experienced extreme cramping in the abdominal area, sudden enlarged abdomens, bleeding profusely during their menstrual cycle and other ailments. These women were faced with physicians who had no answers that could help them with their medical problems. I wanted to know why there were no answers for these women. I learned there was little medical research for women's health. My desire to find answers for these women became the career path I would choose for myself.
My passion for preventative medicine in women's health through health management and holistic medicine drove me to pursue a college education. I began attending the Minneapolis Community Technical College (MCTC) majoring in Liberal Arts with intentions of transferring to a 4 year university. I graduated from MCTC with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts in May 2005. I transferred to The College of St. Catherine's in the Fall 2005 semester to pursue a baccalaureate degree in biology. However, I changed my major to Food and Nutrition/Pre-Medicine with a minor in Exercise Science because I would like to focus on preventative medicine in women's health as it relates to health management.
The Dale E. Fridell Memorial Scholarship is a part of my roadmap to close the door on being dependent on the government's assistance and open the pathway to self-sufficiency and independence. Receiving the Dale E. Fridell Memorial Scholarship will allow me the opportunity to excel in my educational career and continue to make strides toward my goal of working in the medical field while teaching my daughter to never give up on her dreams and by assisting me with payment for tuition and books. I have experienced domestic violence, economic hardship and disparity most of my life. I do not want my daughter to suffer as I did. My life will be a beacon of hope to my daughter where she will learn she can do whatever she sets her mind to. God has empowered me and given me the will to succeed and that is what I intend to do.
more...
 4th
Quarter, 2006 Winner
Corey Williams
University of Southern Maine
My name is Corey Williams. I am a Junior at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine. I will graduate next year at the ripe old age of 33 with a degree in Business Administration; Marketing concentration. The road I have taken to reach my goal of obtaining a college degree and starting a rewarding career has been full of bumps and frequent U-turns.
Originally I had wanted to become an Astronaut and went to school for one semester for Aerospace Engineering. That idea didn't last too long. Since then I married, had two children and divorced. I have been a clerk, a waitress, worked in a factory and as an Administrative Assistant. I thought that maybe I wanted to be an Accountant, a Food Scientist and even a Real Estate Agent. The one thing that didn't change during this 13-year journey was my desire to return to college. That dream seemed impossible as a single mother of two little boys, but I kept my eye on the goal and waited patiently for the right time to make my move.
When I took a job as a Marketing Assistant, I knew immediately that it was the right profession for me. A few years later I decided it was finally my time to go back to school. The kids were older, and I was ready. The past few years have been a struggle, both with time and finances, but it has all been worth it. I am finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and have never been happier.
more...
 3rd
Quarter, 2006 Winner
Shaun McMichael
Seattle Pacific University
My name is Shaun Anthony McMichael. I'm a junior at Seattle Pacific
University, majoring in psychology with a minor in creative writing.
It's an odd mix, some have said, but the two disciplines have
proved to be complimentary. My studies in psychology, with a focus
on adolescent functioning, social interaction and pathology, have
influenced my perception of people and given me insight into the
human condition that has impacted the characters I am able to
create in my writing. more...
2nd Quarter, 2006 Winner
Suriya Jayanti
Washington College of Law at American
University
My formal political coming of age, as I turned eighteen, took
place in the shattered landscape of civil war-torn Lebanon. My
experiences throughout the Middle East during the year and a half
I spent there brought into sharp relief the reality that life
in America is comparatively tranquil, prosperous and nurturing.
more...
 1st
Quarter, 2006 Winner
Joni Swenson
University of Washington
My career goal is to become a nurse in order to help improve the
quality of health care provided to King County, Washington's Latino
community. My Spanish fluency, experience working with the Latino
community and my zeal to attend to patients in need have fueled
my passion to achieve this goal. I am pursuing a Bachelor's degree
in nursing at the University of Washington because of the nursing
program's excellent reputation.. more...
4th Quarter, 2005 Winner
Michelle Dunham
Sinte Gleska University, South Dakota
Completion of a post-secondary program is important to me because
I feel I have the effort and ability to finish what I originally
started a few years ago.
My first choice in careers was to graduate in the airline industry.
I always wanted to become an airline stewardess. I graduated from
International Airline Academy but never had a chance to get a
job in the airline industry due to lack of employment back then.more...
3rd Quarter, 2005 Winner
Kathy Miller
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Without a post secondary education my dream
of being a nurse would never come to fruition. I firmly believe
in the powerful message of Ecclesiastes 3:1 - that there is a
time for every purpose under heaven. Throughout momentous, life-altering
events like discovering my husband attempting to hang himself
in the garage just months after the birth of our first daughter,
his subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia, my own struggle
with the disease Lupus, and then finally burying my husband, Andrew,
just two years ago, more...
2nd Quarter, 2005 Winner
Travis Biggs
University of Northern
Iowa
As a college student I know all too well the struggles of maintaining good study habits while balancing a work schedule. I participate in multiple religious activities as well, and juggling all these things together can be as much of a spectacle as the real juggling acts you see in a carnival.
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