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  • "This scholarship has not only helped me financially, but it has given me the encouragement to keep pushing forward, even on the hardest days."

    — Saphyra Lagang

  • This scholarship has not only helped me financially, but it has also given me the encouragement to keep pushing forward, even on the hardest days.

    — Yeshua Zayas

I have always believed in the quote, “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out,” by Robert Collier. It is something that motivates me every single day in college. High school may be behind me, but my journey toward building my future is only beginning.

This scholarship has not only helped me financially, but it has also given me the encouragement to keep pushing forward, even on the hardest days. It reminds me that the late nights of studying, the tough exams, and all the effort I put in now will pay off in the future. The Andrew Vaughn Scholarship shows me that my hard work matters, and that I am not alone in this journey. For that, I am profoundly grateful.

With gratitude,

Saphyra Lagang

John A. Logan College 

A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a black sleeveless top, standing outdoors in a grassy field with a wooden fence and trees in the background, smiling at the camera.

The Andrew Vaughn Scholarship has helped me tremendously progress through my academic career goals by doing these 2 highly important things for me:

1. It has provided funding for my educational materials. The books and software that I am required to use in my studies can be very expensive at times, often ranging from the $100-300 range. It is a big help in my main goal right now, that being graduating with a bachelor’s degree.

2. It has helped me understand how important a college/university-level education is. Many people do not have the opportunity to go to college or university, and I am very grateful to have such opportunities. The support that the Andrew Vaughn Scholarship gives has pushed me to work harder because of how important this education is. It has helped me realize that there are many people, such as my family and the people at the Andrew Vaughn Scholarship who work hard to fund my studies and support my career and academic future. They want to see me succeed, and I will do my best to do so.

Thank you,

Yeshua Zayas

Cybersecurity Technology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC)