Devon underwent open heart surgery at six months of age to repair a coarctation and a few months later, had two ventral septal defects repaired through heart surgery. Her childhood dream was to attend the Naval Academy, but she will not be able to pursue that dream because they do not accept people with heart defects. Devon bears the emotional as well as the physical scars of her ?unconventional? heart, as she calls it. Her heart defect has made her aware of her own mortality at lot sooner than she might otherwise have been.
Throughout high school, Devon was involved with student government, foreign language club, and academic team. She received the AP Scholar Award and was a member of the national honor society. This past spring, Devon participated in an event that changed her life. She attended a rally on the mall in Washington, D.C. advocating the end of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Since then, she has been passionately working on various humanitarian efforts. This fall, she will be attending George Mason University where she plans to major in International Relations. She wants to go on to earn her Master?s degree from the School of International Service at American University and get involved in humanitarian issues. She would also like to spend a year in the Peace Corps.
Devon will receive the scholarship all four years working towards her Bachelor?s degree. We wish Devon the best of luck!