To my Scholarship Donor,

I know we've never actually met, but you are a huge part of my life.

I truly could not be where I am today without you.

It didn't hit me until about a month ago how important you are. For that, I apologize. When I started college, I knew I had a generous financial aid package. However, I was not completely grateful for it. To a certain extent, I felt like I deserved it and was entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship money.

I am not.

Did I work hard in high school? Absolutely. Do I seek high achievement? You better believe it. But to say that I am worth a blind donation of over $250,000 across four years... Wow.

You see, before I finished my freshman year of college, I had this delusion that there was no face behind the money I was receiving. It wasn't coming from my pockets, and that's all that mattered. But then, one Saturday morning in April, that all changed. I attended a scholarship breakfast with a crowd of donors and their recipients, and I finally saw the faces behind the financial aid packages.

I saw the people who make it possible for me to have a top-tier education.

I saw the smiling, hospitable individuals who selflessly donate to Wake Forest University to ensure that bright students of all backgrounds can have equal opportunities.

I saw alumni who are now CEOs and presidents who take the time out of their busy schedules to make it to an hour long brunch on a Saturday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

I saw adult children helping their older parents up the stairs into a brand new event space so that their family could meet the newest recipient of their generations-old scholarship.

I saw true, heartfelt generosity in the flesh.

And I am forever better because of it.

You see, I am an American Indian female who comes from a hardworking, middle-income family. Things aren't horrible, but I could never attend a university like Wake Forest on my own. Honestly, any university would be hard to afford. It is only through scholarships that I can attend school.

But my American Indian background actually made me resent scholarships. All I ever heard growing up was that I was going to go school for free because of my race. I always had my accomplishments degraded by people who only attributed them to my heritage. Scholarships were a rough subject because instead of being congratulated for earning them, they were thrown in my face as a stereotype.

I also didn't want to feel like a charity case. I did not want to be another little brown girl who is helped through school by people who don't know or appreciate her. But after meeting the fantastic donors at Wake Forest, I know this is not the case.

Scholarship Donor, I thank you for looking at my accomplishments and deeming them worthy of your qualifications. I thank you for giving year after year and taking time to acknowledge your recipients. I thank you for challenging me academically and holding me to a high standard. I thank you for stepping into a role that was difficult for my parents to fill and letting them know they could take it easy. I thank you for providing me with opportunities beyond belief.

I thank you for helping me break down my own stereotypes.

Without you, and without Wake Forest, I would not be the young woman I am today.

And for that, I will be forever grateful.

Love,

Your Scholarship Recipient