2023/24 L.I.F.E Scholarship Winners - Congratulations!
Every year L.I.F.E. Scholarship recipients are selected from a group of outstanding and highly qualified finalists. Our winners, courageous college students with lupus, are chosen to receive the greatest gift—The Gift of Knowledge. They stand tall with self-worth, and confidence, while inspiring us all. NOW they feel heard and valued, not judged and dismissed by others.
All L.I.F.E. Scholarship recipients are exceptional students, involved in numerous activities, and give back to their communities and L.I.F.E. However, it is important to remember that every college student with lupus matters. It is challenging and requires tremendous courage and determination to attend college with systemic lupus--a potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease.
They have used their battle with lupus as fuel to create a future filled with excellence. Merit-based scholarships help build the leaders of tomorrow, while we continue to spread much-needed awareness of the cruel mystery of lupus.
Our L.I.F.E. Scholarship winners continue to demonstrate that students with lupus can attend college, graduate, become pillars in their community, and follow their dreams and aspirations. The 2023/24 L.I.F.E. Scholarship winners represent a diverse group of lupus warriors from across the country!
Congratulations to the 2023/24 L.I.F.E. Scholarship Winners!
Raelee Hawkins - Louisville, Kentucky
“My Lupus diagnosis led me through a journey that helped me discover my servant heart. It offered me perspective on what I really want to do with my life. I know I am here to take care of others in need, which is why I plan to pursue a career in nursing.”
Willamina Churchill Torres - Eastern Michigan University
"We as a society have gotten way too adept at hiding our feelings, our struggles, and ourselves."
Karissa Kyker - Oregon State University
"I would never wish Lupus upon anyone, but it’s a part of myself that I’ve come to accept. Lupus taught me how to fight, heal, and be irrevocably human.”
Nalleli Flores Robles - Regis University, Colorado
“Now I see that I am the one in control of Lupus. I’m trying to turn this curse into a lesson and gift every day. So, Lupus has affected me, it’s shown me I still have so much to go.”
Larysa Pagel - Purdue University, Indiana
"My life would be so much easier without this illness, but I would not trade it for anything."
Teah Moore - Ohio State University
“Lupus has affected my life by maturing me, motivating me to do big things in life and to get more involved in my community.”
Lily Cartier - University of Minnesota, Duluth
"A lupus diagnosis completely changed the course of my life. Day-to-day activities are harder and require me to strongly advocate for myself. It has been difficult to find my place in this world. But a lupus diagnosis also brought me to where I am today, and oh wow, do I love where I am today. "
Bonnie Bettencourt - Columbia College, CA
“Having lupus had to be a reason to get up and move rather than a reason to stay in bed.”
Lucas Ciscato - North Carolina State University
“Lupus, an uninvited resident in my life, has taught me invaluable lessons and shaped me in ways I could not have foreseen. It is an adversary l have learned to live with, and a catalyst for a perspective I would not trade.”
Kennedy Stanley - Doane University
"Even though lupus affects me in negative ways, it has made me a better person by teaching me to push through adversity and to not let my health hold me back."
As President of L.I.F.E., I have a special thanks to our sponsors that have shown others how to be empowered through the act of giving, while at the same time, L.I.F.E. creates newfound stability for students living with lupus and facing insurmountable adversity. The work of volunteers and donors allows us to give the gift of knowledge. And there is no greater gift!
Jodi L. Norton
Lupus Inspiration Foundation for Excellence (L.I.F.E.)
President & Co-founder