Hello world, for those of you who might not know me I am Franklin Scott Ventry. I am originally from New Orleans, LA, but I’ve lived and grew up in Arkansas since I was 11 years old after Hurricane Katrina. I have lived through the worst that Hurricane Katrina had to offer; coming face-to-face with death was definitely the most traumatizing event of my life. As a teenager in a family with little outside support, I’ve watched siblings make very poor decisions and was able to witness the consequences of those choices.  At the age of 17, I was forced to fend for myself, completing high school because of my own grit, determination, and my willingness to seek mentorship from people within my community. While these circumstances may have been an opportunity for many to give up, for me it was the opportunity to succeed despite my circumstances. While most of my peers were concerned with school dances and other teenage activities, I worked many hours per week to put myself through high school with the help of a few dedicated families.

Since entering college, I have not only made my course work a priority, but I’m giving myself the opportunity to have the true college experience, which is sometimes taken for granted. I have never stopped working to pay for many of the things I need such as transportation, food, and any sort of incidentals that I might come across. I have demonstrated an unwavering determination all throughout my life and also a commitment to my goals and aspirations.

For many people, simply living and passively making it through one day and on to the next is considered a “good life”. By me facing isolation, abandonment, natural disaster, geographic relocation, and near homelessness-all before I was nineteen years old- some people would think that it's impossible for me to have made it through. But it’s with the grace and love from our Lord Jesus Christ that I’ve had the ability to face what I have gone through. To me, these circumstances are all the reasons for me to continue to love God with all that I am, and to succeed throughout the rest of my life. 

Now that I have told you my story, now it is time to talk all about the GREAT NEWS. Recently I've had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. with the abundance of our nation’s history, along with experiencing the American culture first-hand. During my visit, I learned all about the program and how it can open multiple doors for me. So I took the chance to apply for the Washington Center, and I GOT ACCEPTED to be a participant for their spring semester academic seminar. This program is a HUGE opportunity for me; I want this program to help me continue to fulfill my passion for finance along with my experience and effectiveness in the professional work field. This program will help me be a part of an organization that is working towards the common goal of improving our economic health and developing policies to help stimulate the economy. I hope to gain better leadership skills, instructing skills, and also learning strategies. Along with that, I hope to apply my work ethic and networking skills to expend my resources within Washington D.C.

This program will be the most amazing opportunity, but it will be pretty pricy to live in D.C. for a full semester. During this program the Washington Center requires students to refrain from working due to the programs intensive workload. The money will be used for a number of things far as:

Transportation (metro, UBER, other)
Incidentals
Emergencies
Phone Bill
Groceries
Flight there (Jan. 25 2017)
Flight back home (May 13. 2017)

Living in D.C. will be expensive, but I don’t want something as simple as money to keep me from being a part of this awesome opportunity. Words cannot explain how much your sponsorship will mean to me if I get all the funds I need to go live in D.C. for a semester. I am thankful to even have this opportunity to raise money for this program, and to have all my family and friends to be a part of this amazing successful  journey.