Bianca Schramm said, “In fifth grade, a fellow student criticized my lunch, complaining that my avocado tofu sandwich looked weird and asked why I didn’t have the ever-popular ham and cheese sandwich … She told me ‘God created animals to be eaten.’  … Do you have a dog? I asked her … “Well, you would never eat a dog, right? …”

Bianca reported, “I have been involved with volunteering projects with the Science of Spirituality Meditation Center since the beginning of Middle School. As a member of their youth services program, I helped cook vegetarian meals and organized field trips every month … “During the summers of 2015 and 2016 I gave discourses at Veggie Fest (Naperville, Illinois) in the Learn To Be Vegetarian booth.”  “As a passionate teenage vegetarian, I still wanted to do more. … One of my biggest hobbies is photography, and I also volunteer at the Science of Spirituality every Saturday for two hours at their vegetarian cooking classes to take pictures of their vegetarian meals for social media.”

Bianca also said, “I work in the Manna Organics booth June through August every Saturday at the Naperville Farmer’s Market (2015-2018). I help sell vegan nut butters and sprouted organic breads. While working there, I had the pleasure of engaging in many insightful conversations with customers about their dietary choices, and I would regularly explain my belief and support of the vegan lifestyle.”

Bianca continued, “As a life-long vegetarian, I have combined my passion for the vegan diet with my passion for creative writing … Many of these short stories from my childhood related to my experiences of being a 5th generation vegetarian.” Bianca also wrote, “I am happy to report that I am indeed still vegan! … The treatment of animals in America is very disheartening, and the more I learn about this inhumane and unsustainable treatment, the more passionate and motivated I become to encourage others to try veganism.”

Bianca will be attending Davidson College as a communication studies major.

To see additional scholarship winners, go to https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group scholarship is February 20, 2020. Applicants should be graduating high school in spring of 2020. For details, see: https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

To support additional scholarships and internships, donate at www.vrg.org/donate You can also call (410) 366-8343, or mail a check to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.