Single Parent Household Scholarship Winners

Biography: There are hundreds of languages around the world, but a smile speaks all of them! My name is Sophia Gaspard, and I am an undergraduate at the University of Connecticut studying Molecular and Cell Biology. I am pursuing a career in orthodontics so that I can change people’s lives both emotionally and physically. I strongly believe that orthodontics is more than cosmetic work because it improves the way that patients function and view themselves.

Though I am living with the cows now in Storrs, I grew up in the Greater City of Waterbury, Connecticut. Going to school in an underprivileged community drove me to have compassion for those around me, and resulted in my involvement in community service projects throughout my childhood. In college, some of my community involvement consists of learning to crochet items for babies in the newborn intensive care unit, as well as writing letters to senior citizens to combat isolation in elderly communities. In addition to Knit for NICU and Love for Our Elders, other community organizations that I am involved in include the Pre-Dental Society, the Italian American Society, Molecular and Cell Biology Club. I am honored to be the recipient of this scholarship, and look forward to the opportunities that I will explore because of the financial support it has provided me.

Reaction Statement: I think this scholarship is an amazing opportunity for children who come from single parent families to express themselves, which is why it had such a profound impact on me. When I found out that I received the award I became emotional and immediately called my father to share the fantastic news. I am very passionate about this scholarship because it gave me the opportunity to voice my experiences as a child in a single parent household. I was able to reflect on the financial and personal hardships, but also the way that I persevere and transform reasons to fail into motivations to succeed. Being brought up by my single father does not define me but has had everything to do with the woman I have become. This scholarship has made me feel understood by those who have bestowed this blessing upon me, and this opportunity has made me even more appreciative of the obstacles that I have overcome. This award is just as much for my father as it is for me, and I am incredibly grateful for the recognition and financial support that SGBBW Family Law Office has given him and me.