Student Stories
Katrina Brady
Things have been very busy this
semester. My seizures are continuing
to get better but stress triggers
grand mals sometimes. I spent about
a month in a wheelchair this last
semester after a seizure at school
which caused vertigo that was so
bad I couldn’t walk. I still
have paralysis after my seizures
and have to use the wheelchair periodically.
I have one more semester to finish
my bachelor’s in Psychology
and I am getting really excited to
be done with school. I can’t
believe I’ve made it! James
and I are wanting to start a family
after I graduate, of course we have
to deal with the seizures which isn’t
too fun. Even though I have a lot
on my plate I can truly say I have
never felt so happy in my life. Things
for me are really good right now.
I am proud to say that I made it
through another semester with straight “A’s”.
If Given a Chance has been a miracle
in my life. I don’t know how
I would have gotten my degree without
your support. You have been the only
constant source of encouragement
I’ve had through my academic
career. Thank you!
Katy Buckner
It looks as though my final undergraduate
semester will be an enjoyable one,
which is especially appreciated while
I am filling out graduate school
applications as we speak.
Thank you again for your support
of the youth of Napa. This award
helped me tremendously both financially
and otherwise. I cannot imagine a
more worthwhile cause and I continue
to feel so honored to be a recipient.
This organization truly gives me
hope; hope for myself, for fellow
recipients, and for the city of Napa
as a whole.
Ashley Cox
My name is Ashley Cox and I am a
student at U.C. Berkeley. I am halfway
through my fourth and final year
here at Cal and I will be graduating
in May with a BA in Art History.
My college experience has been extremely
challenging, academically and personally,
but I gained so much from my experiences
in college and I look forward to
pursuing a master’s degree
in the near future. I will be taking
a year off after I graduate, a much
deserved and needed break, and working.
I hope to attend graduate school
in the Fall of 2009 for a master’s
program in either Art Administration
or Education with a teaching credential.
The If Given a Chance Award
has made it possible for me to be
at Cal and I am so thankful for the
financial and emotional support I
have received. I can only hope that
I am one day in a position where
I will be able to help out students
like me.
Thanks again for all the support.
Catrina Hockney
Throughout the last several years
of my education, “If Given
a Chance” has been my “surrogate
parent”. I’m not talking
about science, I’m talking
about education. Surrogate in this
text will mean stand-in, and parent,
for me, is understanding, support,
discipline. Well, in an odd way that’s
exactly what IGC is; my “parent”.
When I was 16, I was removed from
my mother’s custody and placed
in the court system. I hadn’t
attended school consistently past
eighth grade. So when I got to my
group home I was required to take
GED classes. I finished about the
time I was eighteen. Around the same
time the funding from the county
stopped and I had to pack my bags
and move out. Without a lot of options,
or guidance, I did what every other
eighteen woman would do. I hopped
on a freight train and continued
to hitchhike throughout the U.S and
Canada.( This was not before I had
been nominated for the If Given a
Chance Award).
Shortly after 9-11 I decided to
return to California and go back
to school. Unfortunately, my actions
as a teenager and young adult left
me without the ability to receive
assistance from state and federal
educational programs. On a whim I
re-wrote to IGC and pleaded my case.
I desperately wanted to go back to
school and could not find the extra
money to get started. Writing: “Please,
give me a chance..”
A few weeks later I received a letter
stating: “Ok. We will give
you a “chance”, but here
is the deal…” Now four
crazy school years later I am ready
to transfer to some of the top schools
in our state. I have a 3.7 GPA, volunteer,
work 40+ hours a week and manage
to still have somewhat of an adventurous
side. If not for the guidance and
acceptance of IGC I would not be
where I am today in my education
or my life.
“If Given a Chance” has
made me accountable for my actions
in school, which in turn has helped
me tremendously to recognize accountability
in other areas of my life. I have
to have a plan, follow through, or
explain why it’s changed. And
the best part of all, when I fall
down, all I have to do is ask and
I’m back on my feet again.
When I get an A, change my educational
plan, or apply to Universities, its “If
Given a Chance” that I call.
They are the “parent” of
my education. With their continuous
support and understanding, I KNOW
I will continue to make them proud.
Angeles
Zaragoza
As I choose my class schedule for
my last semester of UCLA Law School,
I can’t help but reflect on
all of my experiences over the years
and those whom have helped me get
to where I am today. The “If
Given A Chance…” Award
has been providing me with support
for the last 8 years, during the
most financially challenging years
of my life. Being a first-generation
college student with a parent that
is unable to assist me financially
has forced me to do 2 things: take
on part-time jobs, and seek outside
funding in order to cover costs that
financial aid will not. It is a difficult
place to be at an institution where
financial hardships are faced by
only a few students and where many
are privileged in the sense that
the only stresses they face are academic. “If
Given A Chance..,” has helped
lessen my stresses, and I thank both
the Board and the many donors for
all they have done to assist me over
the years.
The road has been long. I graduated
from Vintage High School in 2000
and from UC Berkeley in 2004. I obtained
two Bachelor’s degrees in Political
Science and Chicana/o Studies. I
spent a year studying in Barcelona,
two summers doing labor organizing
and research, and a summer at the
Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy
at Princeton University. I graduated
from Berkeley in 2004 and my father
passed away 7 months later, during
my first semester of law school.
I withdrew from school, returned
to Napa and worked for the Education
as a Second Language Program at the
Napa Valley College while assisting
my mother financially. I returned
to law school as a member of both
the Public Interest Law and Policy
Program and Critical Race Studies
Programs and became Co-Chair of the
La Raza Law Student’s Association
as well as the Pacific Region Coordinator
for the National Latina/o Law Student’s
Association. I volunteered to assist
a homeless Hurricane Katrina Victim
for a semester helping her obtain
almost $80,000 more in aid, and have
recently completed a Clerkship with
the Public Defender’s Office
of Los Angeles County. My goal is
to eventually make my way back up
to the bay area since, with my mother’s
recent diagnosis of breast cancer,
I realize how important it is for
me to go back home. Although, my
immediate post-law school plans are
to work for the Public Defender’s
Office and to eventually serve the
criminal defense and education needs
of both detained, and recently released
youth through representation and
advocacy.
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