"I received a Samuel Ready scholarship as a sixth grader leaving Grace & St. Peter's School. At the time I understood very little about the cost and the privilege of attending private school. I remember being pleased to learn that my expenses would be paid, but I was generally aloof to what that really meant. It wasn't until I began here at Friends that I started to recognize the exceptional environment that I had been chosen to be a part of. At first, I labored under the heavy load of homework and the intense emphasis on both athletics and academics at my new school. However, I quickly meshed with my friendly classmates, most of whom knew each other from lower school but nonetheless reached out to embrace their new peers. The seven years I spent at Friends were challenging and life-forming.

I do remember fearing that I would lose the Samuel Ready Scholarship after a particularly difficult eighth grade year during which my grades were not up to par. I secretly wondered what I would do if I had to leave my school and my friends. I learned that my worries were unnecessary when my scholarship was renewed in late summer. I think it was at this time that I began to truly appreciate the commitment that the Samuel Ready Scholarship committee makes to each student. I felt relieved to know that I could grow and struggle just as any other classmate.

It was these experiences that led me to fully appreciate the tremendous opportunity and training that I was given by Friends School and Samuel Ready. After all, I had been educated in such a rigorous college preparatory environment that college was not just an aspiration, but an expectation. My classmates had cared deeply about their studies; my teacher excelled in their work. And all the while, quietly, behind the scenes, The Samuel Ready Scholarship organization was ensuring that my education would continue year after year."

Samuel Ready Scholarship Alumna