“Kiwanis and College. Of course they are two different entities, yet they still have great impacts on people’s lives. Kiwanis International doesn’t only have an impact on the children in a leadership sense, they provide financial opportunities as well. Much can be learned from college, but for me, I might not have even gone to college if it wasn’t for Kiwanis International, Key Club, and the Cal-Nev-Ha Children’s Fund.
It goes without saying that paying for college is a struggle for many college students. To me, it seemed almost impossible to not have to take out loans. That is, until I was awarded the Kenneth C. Forror, M.D. Scholarship in February of 2020 from the Cal-Nev-Ha Children’s Fund. For some, an award worth 1,000 dollars wouldn’t be much, but this pays for either all my book fees for the year, or most of my tuition for the first semester.
Furthermore, I had been awarded another scholarship worth the same amount from the Kiwanis Club of Kailua-Kona, my local Kiwanis group a part of Kiwanis International. Clearly, someone had worked for their money and was kind enough to create an opportunity to award us. I will forever be grateful for these awards and all that had donated and created these opportunities.
Besides scholarships, Kiwanis International has so much to offer. From leadership skills, pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone, and to becoming a more caring person, the possibilities are endless. These are all things I had learned while being a part of Key Club throughout high school. Without a doubt, I would not be who I am today if it wasn’t for Kiwanis and Key Club.
In short, I am very thankful for all that I have learned and received. In this case, it would be the wide range of opportunities that pertain to finance to the skills I learned to be a successful and kind adult. Not only will I take these skills and lessons learned with me throughout life, I will also be able to take the awards you have graciously provided and get an education and become someone extraordinary. Now, I will end by saying thank you for everything since I truly could not have done it without you.”
Jordyn Picadura