2020 Scholarship Winners
The Vegetarian Resource Group Awarded $20,000 in 2020 College Scholarships
Thomas Woodruff • Texas
According to a reference for Thomas Woodruff, "In Texarkana it is hard to find vegan
food and TJ saw the need and started a vegan business from the ground up. I first
noticed the advertisements for TXK Vegan on Facebook and had no ideaa 17-year-old
was the mastermind behind the dishes. His professionalism was outstanding, the food
looked great, and it was evident that the chef had done extensive research on a
vegan lifestyle. I placed my first order and was shocked that a 17-year-old had not
only created the menu, but shopped, prepped, and cooked the delicious dishes by
himself. He has shown an ability to run a kitchen and establish a successful
business in a small town. This includes procuring on-demand vegan items he travels
out of town to obtain."
Another reference stated, "To look at the world in his immediate area and challenge the status quo, where hunting and animal husbandry runs deep, shows that he has courage that not many possess."
TJ said, "I promoted veganism in my community, Texarkana, a small town in Texas, by starting my own pop-up vegan business. The success of my business was feeding people in my city the first vegan option in town (where) most of the customers are meat-eaters. I sell out at every event and the demand keeps on growing."
"During the pandemic, I started a vegan grocery delivery service to locals. Customers go to?txkvegan.com,?select the products they want, pay, select a delivery day, and I leave the products at their door so they don't have to leave their house for vegan food. I'm also working on being able to ship my cashew queso so people will be able to get it nationwide.
"Before the pandemic started, I was working at a French restaurant. I got laid off and during my down time, the chef told me to design a vegan brunch menu to be added later.
"In the future, I would love to own a vegan restaurant and I want to bring a product to market so people everywhere can get it at their local grocery store. Five years after graduating with a degree in entrepreneurship I would love to move back to Texarkana and open a food truck," TJ said.
To see TJ's offerings, go to www.txkvegan.com, www.facebook.com/txkvegan or Instagram, @txkvegan.
Anayeli Camacho • Texas
Anayeli Camacho became vegetarian at 14 and then vegan. Wanting a job she could be
proud of, she applied to Verdine, a vegan restaurant, for a busser/runner position.
"Being 16 at the time, I would ask to do anything from cut the bread to making the ketchup, thinking I was too young to be prep. One of the leads asked if I wanted to become prep full time, and I said yes. I was scared at first. This isn't my home kitchen; it's a real kitchen, with real customers, eating food that I made. I didn't want to disappoint anyone that took a chance on me," Anayeli said.
The owner of Verdine said, "Ana works as a prep cook in my kitchen. She shows up early and stays late. She picks up whatever task is needed of her. She takes initiative in creating her own closing checklists and par sheets. She is only a senior in high school, yet our restaurant fully trusts her to manage her own prep tasks — creating everything from our sauces and salad dressings to full-on baking, and decorating our vegan and gluten-free cakes. Moreover, not many high school seniors work six days a week, and of those days especially being every single Friday and Saturday night."
Anayeli also works with Verdine at festivals tending the grill, doing sushi duties, decorating cupcakes, and prepping items needed to serve customers. Additionally, she takes pictures for their social media. In the future, Anayeli would like to become a vegan nutritionist, help restaurants add vegan items to their menus, and assist individuals in changing their food habits.
"Lifting people up so they can be the best they can be will always be something I choose to do," said Anayeli.
Anna Sherwood • Tennessee
When I was 14 years-old, I was the only vegan teenager I knew. Trying to find others
online, I became frustrated to see people promoting and repeating advice and
viewpoints that are counterproductive to the movement. For example, I saw one adult
vegan tell teenagers in his Facebook group that they do not need to worry about
obtaining adequate vitamin B12.
Not only is health advice like that rampant online, but the attitudes and advocacy advice often is just as bad. Assuming non-vegans are awful people and treating them that way, to the point of even wishing them harm, is not going to help our movement grow. I wanted a website where I could connect with vegans my age, while getting high-quality advice and support targeted to my perspective as a teenager. I couldn't find one, so I decided to create it: www.veganteen.net.
For years, I've collected stories on my website from vegan teenagers around the world, as well as written answers based on real questions from teenagers who have contacted me. I realized early on that I was not qualified to answer all the questions other teenagers asked me, so I found some adults to act as advisors.
One challenge I've faced is that most people in Generation Z do not want to read much. I can spend countless hours preparing a balanced blog article but someone in a YouTube video will get infinitely more attention making incendiary statements. So I have had to console myself with the fact that there's now a website with high-quality advice for vegan and vegan-interested teenagers who want it.
A final challenge is how I have spent a lot of time since age 14 answering every single question I have received from vegan- and vegan-interested teens through email and social media. One of my peer advisors recommended starting a mentor program in hopes of staying in better contact with people who reach for help, so I made one.
Two vegan teens besides myself have volunteered to serve as mentors (though unfortunately people who ask to join don't always follow up). Obtaining the #1 Google rank for www.veganteen.net took years of work creating content and optimizing my website for search rankings.
My biggest achievement so far is co-authoring Veganism and Perspective in Vegetarianism and Veganism: A Reference Handbook, which was published in June 2019. David E. Newton invited me to contribute as an author to this edition of his Contemporary World Issues series, published by ABC-CLIO of Santa Barbara. I asked another vegan teenager to co-author, because I know he's an environmental science major.
In March 2019, I represented my age group as a non-profit educational table at Nashville's VegFest. One of the members of my VeganTeen Facebook group came up for the day from Alabama.
A lot of the teenagers at VegFest were not vegan, and I hope we encouraged them to move in that direction. Another local activity I have participated in is the Cube of Truth (a peaceful street activism demonstration that employs direct action with the public).
I now understand that, sometimes, if I don't do it, no one else will. The best illustration of this realization's effect on me is that I started my school's first environmentalism club in Fall 2018. What I am proudest of is our Earth Day education event, encouraging students to use an online personal impact calculator. Many students participated, and one of the key entries in the calculator was meat consumption.
I have searched several scholarship lists and see [The Vegetarian Resource Group] one listed a lot; it is one of the most generous on every list. I think this scholarship helps get my generation thinking about vegetarianism even more than they are already, and associating it with something positive.
My perfect life in five years would be studying as a medical student at a prestigious medical school.
I would like to become a type of physician who counsels people to avoid animal products daily. However, I am also extremely interested in the promise of computer simulations and organ-on-a-chip technology to create more reliable alternatives to animal testing in chemical and pharmaceutical development.
The Vegetarian Resource Group had 280 applicants this year.?We wish we could give awards to all of these incredible teens. The deadline for applications for 2021 high school senior awards is February 20, 2021. To see rules and past scholarship winners, go to www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm. To support other scholarships and internships, donate at www.vrg.org/donate.
