First Literacy Scholar: Diana

Diana is from the Dominican Republic where much of the country lives in poverty. She is the first in her family to move to the United States looking for opportunities for a better life. She excelled in academics of all levels in her home country despite the toxic household she grew up in. Diana intended to follow in the footsteps of her mother and become an engineer after schooling. When she came to the United States, she realized that this was not her true passion, and decided she wanted to become a nurse instead. Diana came to the United States to achieve something greater with her life, and she intends to do so by using her education to help others.

Diana is a member of the Commonwealth Honors Society, the National Society of Leadership and Success, as well as Senator-at-Large in the Student Government Associate and Vice President of Scholarship in the Alpha Kappa Mu chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. She is currently enrolled in classes at Bunker Hill Community College and is studying for the TEAS exam – a standardized exam required for students entering a nursing program.

Diana is also the 2024-2025 recipient of the Tom Brunnick Memorial Scholarship*.

*The Tom Brunnick Memorial Scholarship has been named in memory of Tom Brunnick, who immigrated to the United States in 1921, escaping poverty and civil war in his home country of Ireland in search of a better life. He worked tirelessly to pursue his own dreams, and was ultimately able to raise five children and buy a house in his adopted home city of Boston. He was fortunate to be part of a community that supported one another; Tom’s family hopes that through this award, scholars can experience being part of a supportive community, as well.

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