Chyna's Summer Funding for Yale

Story

I am an upcoming 10th grader at Spring Valley High School. I have a long history of academic excellence and achievement. I have been participating in the top rigorous academic programs Columbia, South Carolina has to offer . I have been recognized by the Duke Tip program for my strength in academics and have scored in the top two percent in the state on the PSAT. Because of my exceptional academic talent, I received the South Carolina Junior Scholars Award of Merit certificate from the South Carolina Department of Education. This year, I traveled to Clemson University and competed in my first declamation competition. More than 40 schools attended with over 100 students. I was proud to represent Spring Valley as I took first place in the  Latin II category. I am a well-rounded student who puts as much energy and effort into the arts as I do academics. I have a natural flare for the arts and my talents have been recognized throughout my young life. I've had my artwork selected to be displayed in the Columbia Place Mall as a part of the districts showcase of young talent. My artwork for a T-shirt design was chosen to represent my school and was deemed the trademark design. I have been nominated for Tri-District Arts Consortium for my artwork at least twice, as well as for my writing.I am also a violinist and was nominated for the Tri-District Arts Consortium two years in a row.  I perform with my violin on holy days for the members of my faith's community. Although I have excelled in formal arts, I also have a natural creative side which I love to showcase by doing nail designs. I am self-taught and am continuing to build my knowledge of nail art design. While academics and arts many times go hand and hand, I have also combined these two with athletics. I have done many sports over the years, but have honed my skills on the tennis court over the past few. I am tenacious on the court and I never give up. I have won many awards including the "Hustler" award. All of my coaches appreciate my passion for the game.  In seventh grade, I was the only middle school student to make the girls varsity tennis team and I have been one of the top ranked players since then. In addition to tennis, I also run track.   In spite of all of the traveling and late nights for sports, I have been able to maintain a 4.0 and above average while participating in my rigorous curriculum. I have to balance studying for college level courses, 2  plus hour practices for sports, practice for orchestra, doing my weekly and daily chores, walking my little Shih Tzu, and keeping my nails on fleek. I am balancing a lot and am excited about the challenge.All of my hardwork is being recognized as I was recently invited to go to Yale University this summer with their explorations program, Explo-Yale. During the course of 3 weeks from July 17th - August 5th, I will be able to take classes at Yale on topics that interest me. I will be able to tour and interact with others on many of the other Ivy League schools' campuses like Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and Brown. It is a wonderful opportunity that will allow me to explore my academic interests and experience what campus-Iife will be like at these prestigious institutions.They offer a wide variety of extra-curricular activites and excursions I will be participating in as well. I have been fortunate to be awarded a scholarship to attend this summer program. However, I did not receive enough funds to cover the entire trip.I am reaching out to my family, friends, and those who will be willing to help me invest in my future to assist me by sponsoring me . I need to raise this money to cover the remaining costs of the tuition and travel to and from Connecticut along with funds for excursions and other activities. My goal is to have all funds before July 15th.This means a lot to me because these types of opportunities don't come around every day. I feel very honored and blessed to have even recieved the invitation,let alone the scholarship. I strongly believe that attending this program this summer will allow me to expand my academic horizons and further prepare me for my future. I would be so thankful to all who donate, because this is so important to me. Every little bit counts and I will be grateful for anything that I can get, as my family does need all the help they can get to cover these large expenses. Thank you so much to everyone who donates.Sincerely, Chyna Thompson