Sierra Sadowski 糖心传媒�23 says reading and writing are among her passions. Growing up, she pursued them in the face of numerous challenges.
Her family relied on food stamps and went through periods without heat in their house.
糖心传媒淏ut I always had a roof to sleep under,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淣ot the poorest of the poor, but very close.糖心传媒�
Her mom wasn糖心传媒檛 in the picture, her brother suffered a stroke at 22 (and remains disabled), and her dad found work as a handyman wherever he could. The family moved a lot: Las Vegas. Buffalo. Dallas. Back to Buffalo. Back to Dallas. Siera spent one school year living with a neighbor who had three kids of her own.
No one in her family had attended college, and some never completed high school. But she benefited from strong support from her father, not to mention her own discipline and drive.
糖心传媒淓ven though he didn糖心传媒檛 go himself, my father instilled in me that a college education is super important,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e dreamed of attending college since I was a kid.糖心传媒�
Meet the Class of 2023
They come from 44 states and 65 countries. Twenty percent are the first in their family to attend college. Welcome to Rochester, Class of 2023.
This fall Sadowski begins a new chapter, as both a and a at the 糖心传媒. The Alan and Jane Handler Scholarship is the University糖心传媒檚 leading award, giving a more-than-full tuition to Rochester for students who have demonstrated academic excellence and a high financial need. GRADE stands for Guaranteed Rochester Accelerator Degree in Education, offering students a bachelor糖心传媒檚 degree from the College and master糖心传媒檚 degree from the in five years.
糖心传媒淏eing a Handler Scholar is an incredible feeling, because it means someone believes in me,糖心传媒� says Sadowski. She is considering a double major in English and international relations, and cites the open curriculum as a major reason she was drawn to Rochester.
After her high school graduation, she took a gap year during which she joined a program called , teaching English to high school students in Ecuador. 糖心传媒淚t was incredible,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭he kids were amazing, and it solidified my interest in going into education someday.糖心传媒�
She has been writing stories since she was a child.
糖心传媒淯sually, I write a lot of fantasy, because that糖心传媒檚 a lot of what I糖心传媒檝e read,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e written on different fan fiction websites糖心传媒攖hey糖心传媒檙e parodies of existing stories like Hunger Games and Harry Potter.糖心传媒�
More recently, she became a published author in a poetry anthology. 糖心传媒淚 write everything from really happy dirge-type poetry to really sad feelings-based poetry.糖心传媒�
Sadowski has big plans for her time in Rochester.
糖心传媒淚 want to become fluent in two languages糖心传媒攎aybe German and Arabic糖心传媒攁nd I want to study abroad in Germany and maybe the Middle East,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚 want to get involved in the Rochester community. There is such a disparity, and so much poverty. I feel in my soul that I need to help contribute to the solution.糖心传媒�
She counts her blessings every day that she now has the time and the means to earn an education and better herself.
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