2019 Scholarship Winners
The Vegetarian Resource Group Awarded $20,000 in 2019 College Scholarships
Karina Carrillo Juarez • Nevada
$10,000 University of Nevada, Honors
My parents are immigrants and worked harder than anyone I know to maintain a roof over my head. Despite all their attempts, we lived in some of the worst parts of Las Vegas. Police sirens and helicopters were my lullabies.
I began to learn about veganism through YouTube. I chose to pursue a vegan diet at the end of middle school. When I first became vegan, my doctor was understandably concerned... After a year I took a blood test because I wanted to prove everyone wrong. She and my mom were impressed by how well I maintained or improved.
I have a little sister with severe allergies to milk. Because I was vegan before her dairy allergy became so strong, I've been able to make her foods that she can eat and enjoy. My mom has started to use alternatives while cooking to make foods such as pozole, Mexican desserts, enchiladas, and my favorite, soy ceviche.
As I entered high school, I became very overwhelmed. I had been accepted into East Tech for its noted culinary program. While I was passionate about Culinary Arts, I also was very scared because I didn't want to break my values when learning about Culinary Arts. When people started to find out I was vegan, I was constantly made fun of. Rather than lashing out, or letting everything get to me, I used it as motivation to become more confident in who I was. By the middle of freshman year, the entirety of my school knew me for being vegan.
The hardest part of high school was within the culinary kitchen. At first, my freshman chef was very overwhelmed when finding out I was vegan. He's had the same curriculum for years and years, but I came in and changed that. I didn't expect to be treated special, but he didn't want to make me feel left out. We did collide a couple times, and had some arguments, but with time we learned how to work together. I learned a lot from him, because he was extremely experienced in the culinary world.
Often he would teach me how to tweak certain recipes so that I could enjoy them alongside the rest of my class. When we began to gain confidence, we would even experiment with different things as we tried to veganize tricky recipes. With time, Chef asked me to teach the class a couple things about being vegan, eating healthy, and avoiding allergens, because he thought it would be useful knowledge for anyone planning to work in the culinary industry. He even started to create lessons on vegan food for the entire class, not just me. One of my most thrilling moments was when I walked into the culinary refrigerator to search for regular ingredients. What I found was so exciting to me. My heart fluttered a bit, and I rushed out to talk to our chef. Inside a pretty purple box were 12 containers of soymilk and so much more! The school buying these items meant I was finally accepted, and that the minds of my teachers were more open to my lifestyle.
My senior project was one of my proudest moments in high school. I had been cooking for two days straight. Without any sleep, I arrived to school with nearly 400 servings of baked vegan goods. We were only required to have 200, but I was afraid of running out.
I was really nervous to present. Senior celebration day is huge. All the hallways, fishbowls, and banquet halls become filled with senior presentations. Even school administration, such as the superintendent show up to school.
As I began presenting to everyone, I became fearful I was acting too vegan. I wanted people to listen to me and not become close minded. Rather than spend a minute or two talking to me, they'd spend up to 20 minutes! Our culinary teacher brought professional chefs he had been friends with for decades. He was a little nervous, and wanted to make sure I made a good impression on them. I was nervous too. To my surprise, they were amazed with the alternatives I tried and intrigued by the science I explained. My food was gone about 45 minutes before presentations ended, and yet people still came to my station. I loved the conversations I had with everyone. They weren't afraid to contradict me, and that allowed me to be able to inform them on misconceptions in a kind way.
Karina will be attending University of Nevada, Honors.
Leigh Harris • Utah
$5,000 University of Utah
Growing up, I always had a passion for animals. In fact, at the age of four, I declared that I wanted to be a cheetah when I grew up. When I realized that this was not a viable option, I decided that I wanted to somehow be able to involve my passion for animals into my life. At 13, I was finally able to transition to vegetarianism.
I became involved at the Volunteers of America Youth Resource Center. Jeremy Beckham, who just happens to be the first recipient of The Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship, and his partner, began the monthly dinners for homeless youth in 2015. My family and I were a part of the first volunteer group to sign up. When Amy and Jeremy have been unavailable to lead the volunteer group, we are one of the first families they call to fill in. We plan the meals, shop for the groceries, and organize the volunteers. It has become an event we look forward to every month.
Examples of the dishes we have made are curries, sloppy joes, lasagna, chili, and cornbread. Some of the most popular dishes have been jumbo pasta shells stuffed with spinach and a homemade cashew ricotta cheese, cheesy broccoli soup, and chana masala with roti. We prepare enough food to feed 50 youth. The majority of them come back for seconds. There is a girl who resides at the shelter who is vegan and is always so happy to see my group when we're making dinner. We have a $100 dollar budget for every dinner which shows that you can eat a healthful diet with variety on a budget.
One of Leigh's references said, "As a proud and grateful recipient of the 2003 Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship and an active member in the animal protection movement, it is my distinct pleasure to recommend Leigh Harris. Utah Animal Rights Coalition is the organizer of the annual SLC VegFest, the largest vegan festival in Utah, with approximately 5,000 attendees each year.
Last year, Leigh was one of three young people on a panel discussing issues affecting vegan youth. Leigh shared her experiences as a vegan in middle school and high school, and provided meaningful advice for those in attendance about how to navigate tricky family and social situations as a young vegan. I was thoroughly impressed with Leigh's natural confidence as a public speaker, her storytelling ability, and her mastery of the facts related to veganism and nutrition.
Speaking from personal experience, a scholarship from VRG not only provides tangible resources for the recipient, it also carries with it a humbling endorsement of one's character, past accomplishments, and future potential. I truly believe (Leigh) will be a steadfast and effective advocate for animal rights."
Leigh will be attending the University of Utah.
Bianca Schramm • Illinois
$5,000 Davidson College
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?"
I have been involved with volunteer 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.
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 the vegan lifestyle.
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.
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 industry, the more passionate and motivated I become to encourage others to try veganism.
Bianca will be attending Davidson College as a communications studies major.
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The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group scholarship is February 20, 2020. To support VRG scholarships and internships, donate at www.vrg.org/donate.
Applicants should be graduating high school in spring of 2020. For details, visit www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm.
