Sponsored! Lydia
Hi, my name is Lydia, and I am a junior at Hoover High School. A little bit about myself: I was born and raised in San Diego, specifically City Heights, my parents had migrated to the U.S. with the dream that both my sister and I would have a better life than they did in Vietnam because they had not been given the luxury of getting an education, having dropped out of middle school to provide for their families back in Vietnam. Growing up, I was always the sick child in my family with hyperthyroidism, and it was hard for them because my family wasn’t the best financially, didn’t speak English, and on top of that, they had to take care of a weak and frail child. I always felt like a burden because I would make my parents worried for every hospital trip we would go to, making them fearful for the words that would come out of the doctor's mouth. It didn’t help that I had just recently gone through two surgeries that, I swear, almost made my mom faint.
In March 2023, I had undergone my very first surgery to excise my left thyroid because my doctor had found a tumor on that thyroid. It seemed to be benign at the time, and when I went to take a sample of the area around my neck to see if the tumor with cancer in it had spread to any other part of my throat, it didn’t. After a lot of praying to Buddha, I bravely went into the operating room and got my surgery. I was so glad it was over and I was “healthy” again until my dad got a call with news that my surgeons had done a safety precaution test on my right thyroid, and I felt like the unluckiest girl, but there were signs of cancer on that thyroid. Next thing I knew, I was under the bright white light with an anesthesia mask over my mouth in June 2023.
After I had taken around a month to recover from my latest surgery, I started to work on my physical health by playing a sport I enjoyed, which is tennis. I started tennis at the beginning of my freshman year because I wanted to get involved in something at my school that was within my capabilities. I met a super chill and nice coach named Coach Ping, and he made me fall in love with the sport. I have never been a big sports person, but I really felt like tennis was for me. I have also been using my grandma’s hand-me-down tennis racket, which is quite old, and although it still works and does the job, it is not the best.
On the other hand, while I am playing tennis, I am also trying to balance school work at the same time. I am taking multiple AP classes, which include APUSH, AP Calculus, and AP Language and Composition, with the hopes of boosting my GPA and passing those classes (and the AP exam) so I won’t have to take them in college. It is hard to say what my dream college is, but at the moment, my top three would be Columbia University, USC, and Brown. I don’t want to get my hopes up too high for those universities, but I’d like to dream.
Considering my financial situation, I recognize that this scholarship opportunity would greatly benefit me in the sense of contributing to the tuition of these universities and being utilized to afford a laptop. I have been relying on my school’s Chromebook because that is all I need right now, but it will be a problem once I get into college because I won’t have a personal computer at hand. I could also use the scholarship for school supplies such as pencils, highlighters, erasers, etc. that could be used to further maximize my learning potential. I believe that with the help of ABFK, I could gain a boost, which I greatly need, and I will be a trustworthy investment. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and considering my application.
Sincerely, Lydia