Kids’ Chance of America (KCOA) is proud to announce Kids’ Chance of Illinois (KCIL) scholarship recipient Jazmin as the 2023-2024 Jim Hudak and Sally Silvia Scholarship awardee. 

Established in 2019, the Jim Hudak and Sally Silvia Scholarship Fund provides supplemental scholarship funding to one scholarship recipient each year as part of the Kids’ Chance of America Endowment. Each Kids’ Chance state organization can submit one candidate for consideration from their most recent class of scholarship recipients. 

KCOA Welcomes Jazmin

Through the combined support of KCOA and KCIL, Jazmin will head to Loyola University in Chicago this fall to study pre-law. “As a Latina woman, I understand the difficulties that many minorities face,” Jazmin said. “I want to bring my unique perspective to my work as a lawyer so I can one day help families like mine.” 

Jazmin’s tireless work ethic and dedication to public service stem from her parents and witnessing their experience as immigrants in the United States. “Their immigrant journey allowed me to pursue my dreams and become the strong woman I am today,” Jazmine said. “My parents instilled in me the values of hard work, compassion, and perseverance, and I try to personify these values by providing service to my community.” 

In high school, Jazmin’s passion for public service deepened through her involvement with the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program at her school. She volunteered to help run food and Christmas gift drives for veterans, spending valuable one-on-one time with them. “The veterans’ gratitude gave me a great sense of accomplishment,” she said. 

With classes beginning this month, Jazmin is excited to start school and embark on this new chapter of her life. “I am extremely grateful to be a scholarship recipient and want to thank KCOA and KCIL for giving me the opportunity to pursue higher education and carry on my parent’s legacy.”

The whole Kids’ Chance community wishes Jazmin success in her first year at Loyola University.

‍Update from Mariam, 2022-2023 Scholarship Recipient 

When we last spoke with Mariam, a Kids’ Chance of Texas (KCTX) scholarship recipient and last year’s Jim Hudak and Sally Silvia Scholarship awardee, she was weeks away from beginning her freshman year at Rice University in her home state of Texas. 

Now, with one year under her belt, Mariam is feeling stronger and more sure of herself than ever before. “I have much more confidence in the person I am and who I am evolving to be. It’s genuinely surreal to experience the immense change that I have undergone here.” 

Mariam’s favorite freshman year course, psychology, served as a major catalyst for the tremendous personal and academic growth she experienced throughout the year. “The class’s engaging curriculum and interactive discussions strengthened my love for neurological processes and increased my confidence in my neuroscience major.” 

Looking ahead to the new school year, Mariam is ready to use her newfound confidence to help encourage the next class of incoming freshmen and welcome them into the communities she loves. She’s excited to plan more events for her favorite on-campus organizations, including the residential colleges, the Black/African Student Association, Diversity and Inclusion, and the Muslim Student Association. 

To Mariam, none of this would be possible without the generous support of our community. “I am so appreciative of the fact that I was able to afford such a transformative college experience at Rice University. Thanks so much to the whole Kids’ Chance community, as always, for supporting me and keeping in touch with my journey.”

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