Click to visit Camp I Am Me site2020 Scholarship Recipients!
Congratulations to Emma Lewis, Josephine Bunnnell, Kelsay Parrott, Corryn Bachner, Autumn Hamilton, our 2020 scholarship winners.
As the 2020 Barbara Latenser memorial scholarship award recipient, Emma Lewis comes to us from Springport, Indiana. Entering her senior year at Indiana University East, Emma was just eighteen months old when she was burned and doesn’t remember much about it, nor does she care to, because it wouldn’t change the hours upon hours spent in the hospital for treatment and surgeries to repair her injuries. When not in the hospital, Emma has excelled in school. All that time spent in hospitals admiring the diligence of the healthcare workers there gave her hope. Since, Emma has become mother to her son Hudson. Her experience as a burn survivor and a new mother has provided her a passion to give back to people which is why Emma is studying to become a pediatrician.
Hailing from Beacon, Iowa, Josephine Bunnell is the 2020 recipient of the Kelly Skiles memorial scholarship. At just eighteen months old, a curious young Josie pulled a pot of steamed broccoli on herself, spilling boiling water down her arm. She was eventually airlifted to University of Iowa where they had the experience to treat her burns. Josie eventually attended Miracle Burn Camp where she learned the depth of her compassion for fellow burn survivors like herself. Josie is a devoted Christian, an outstanding student and a very active member in her community volunteering in various activities with her church and through school. After spending five months in Ghana, Africa, Josephine discovered that becoming a teacher is her calling. This coming school year, she will be studying primary education at University of the Nations in Hawaii.
Kelsay Parrott was FTTTF’s first scholarship recipient from the state of Iowa and is the 2020 recipient of the Alex Collazo memorial scholarship. As a young girl, Kelsay suffered severe burns in a simple effort to blow out a candle on a birthday cake. Those burns not only necessitated many surgeries but also caused other challenges and disorders that Kelsay has extraordinarily overcame. Through her experience Kelsay has shown the kind of person she is through her various volunteer activities, most notably by creating “Joy Bags”, where she would create and fill bags full of school supplies for hospitalized children in Iowa and Nebraska. Kelsay will enter her fourth year at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa studying youth ministry, Christian education and religion. She hopes to use her personal experience and education to be a minister and motivational speaker.
Korryn Bachner, 2020 recipient of the Tim Miller memorial scholarship, was burned at a bonfire as a high-schooler alongside her friend Autumn. But she hasn’t let the experience get her down as she and her friends had received much support from the school and the community. Korryn has received love and support from her local Moose Lodge in Lombard, Illinois where she would regularly volunteer her time helping with local kids’ activities both before and after the accident. On top of that, she participated in the RISE program at her high school which provides kids with anonymous support with anything they may be going through in their life. This fall, Korryn begins her collegiate journey at the University of Dayton and one day aspires to be a high school Spanish teacher.
Receiving the 2020 Daniel Yost memorial scholarship, Autumn Hamilton is new to From Tragedy to Triumph alongside her friend Korryn. At a bonfire with friends, someone threw gasoline on the bonfire right in front of her, triggering an explosion that caused severe burn injuries from Autumn’s head down to her knees on 45% of her body. This put her into a 12-week coma and eventually led to her spending what would have been her junior year of high school at Shriner’s hospital in Galveston, TX instead. Having gone through so much, Autumn has discovered strength inside herself that she never knew was there before. During her time at Shriner’s she supported other young burn survivors as well while making up her school work and recovering from her extensive injuries. Always having been an outstanding student at Glenbard East high school, Autumn will continue her educational journey at the College of DuPage in the fall of 2020.