The 2022 Growing Your Community Scholarship from Scalice Land Surveying P.C. has been awarded to Grace Frye. The $2,500 award will help her in her studies in the nursing program at DePaul University.
Frye’s winning essay tells the story of a tragic injury, the loss of a dream, and the birth of an even greater passion. Ever since she was little, Grace Frye wanted to become a collegiate softball player. With unofficial visits from coaches and a handful of verbal commitments from schools by the time she was in eighth grade, the dream seemed attainable.
Then, tragedy struck. “When I sustained a back injury that ended those dreams,” Frye wrote in her essay, “I found myself starting over.” At first, the loss of her childhood ambition was devastating, but she soon found an inner drive she had not experienced before. Watching her mother work as a Nurse-Manager, Frye realized that her true calling is to become a nurse and help underprivileged and underserved communities.
“I’m grateful that I have such a clear vision of how I want to share my blessings with my community and the rest of the world,” she wrote. “I know, without a doubt, that my calling is the nursing profession.”
Grace Frye’s Future Plans
After already attaining her CNA certification through Parkland College, Frye aims to work as a registered nurse for a few years after graduating from DePaul. Then, she wants to return to school in order to become a Nurse Practitioner with a focus on providing high-quality healthcare to women and children in need.
“I plan on applying to Lurie Children’s Hospital to gain more experience as a CNA and prepare myself for a career in nursing,” she told representatives of Scalice Land Surveying P.C.
In the meantime, Frye embodies the spirit of the Growing Your Community Scholarship by volunteering at her local food pantry every week, at her local hospital’s inpatient cancer center, and at her church’s holiday meal programs.
