In 2018 we awarded over $400,000 total in scholarships to almost 100 students! That mark has been our annual goal for a while, and it will continue to be for years to come. As the cystic fibrosis population ages, though, our scholarship program must adapt! People with CF are truly living longer than ever, and it’s important to me that we are able to continue supporting families as they charge through life.
Effective today, we will be making a few changes to our scholarship program!
You likely already know about the first! The Lea Faraone Memorial Scholarship for students with cystic fibrosis who want to study abroad will launch in the coming weeks. Lea loved to travel, see the world and experience new things, so to honor her, we will support students who value the same things she did in life!
The next is a brand new piece to our scholarship program. Each year the Boomer Esiason Foundation awards 20 quarterly scholarships (5 each quarter), currently valued at $5,000 each, under the BEF General Academic Scholarship program. Starting with the 2019 Quarter 2 scholarship, the eligibility criteria of the entire General Academic Scholarship program will expand to include students who may not have CF, but instead who have a mother or father with CF. We are still absolutely encouraging students with cystic fibrosis to apply, but we are also looking forward to helping people with cystic fibrosis who have grown older and are sending their kids to college!
Finally, the Gunnar Esiason Own It Scholarship is getting a rebrand. The scholarship will now exclusively support students with cystic fibrosis who are pursuing graduate education! Over the past few years, we have noticed an increase in applicants who are heading off to graduate school or even some who are already there. We are taking that as another sign of continued success for our patient population. Until now, we have not had a scholarship program geared specifically towards graduate students, so we hope this small change will be able to support that part of our community! Graduate students will still be allowed to continue to apply for other scholarships within the larger BEF Scholarship umbrella, but given the increased number of applicants who are in the graduate level, we felt it best to give them a place to apply together.
Our scholarship program will always be in flux, as it was last year, when we launched the Paul Drury Memorial Scholarship for siblings of people with CF.
Our community’s needs are constantly changing, and you have my word that our scholarship program will continue to do the same! As always, we look forward to reviewing your applications!
You can see a full list of our scholarships HERE
