Student Loan Hero Fall 2019 Scholarship Winners

Written by Rebecca Safier

September 10, 2019February 20, 2020Featured, Paying for College954Rebecca Safier

Updated on September 10, 2019

Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It may not have been reviewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.

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Private Student Loan rates starting at 0.94% APR

	1.19% to 11.98% ¹ VARIABLE APR	Visit Lender
	1.62% to 11.73% ² VARIABLE APR	Visit Lender
	0.94% to 11.44% ³ VARIABLE APR	Visit Lender

¹

²Sallie Mae Disclaimer: Click here for important information. Terms, conditions and limitations apply.

³Rate range above includes optional 0.25% Auto Pay discount.

Variable APR

Learn more about private student loan lenders.

As part of our ongoing efforts to fight the student debt crisis, Student Loan Hero is excited to announce the six winners of our fall 2019 scholarships. These deserving recipients overcame incredible challenges to get where they are today, and we’re thrilled to support them as they continue working hard to achieve their goals.

It’s our sincere hope that this scholarship will ease the financial burden as they work toward their degrees, and reduce the amount they need to borrow in student loans. Read on to meet the scholarship winners in this round of Student Loan Hero scholarships, and learn their inspiring stories.

Ann Potter, George Mason University

Image courtesy of Ann Potter

Grand prize: $5,000

As a political science major at George Mason University, Ann is committed to a future career in the political arena, working for the protection of health insurance rights. Her motivation comes from personal experience, having supported her sister through three battles with leukemia. Her family’s experience with cancer taught Ann to keep moving and never give up on her mission to provide continuous health care coverage for people in need.

Fabiola Tucux, University of Pennsylvania

Image courtesy of Fabiola Tucux

Grand prize: $5,000

As she pursues her master’s in education at the University of Pennsylvania, Fabiola is studying ways to achieve educational equity. The first in her family to go to a four-year university, Fabiola struggled with self-doubt and financial hardship.

But with the help of her community, she was able to reach her goals and immerse herself in education, policy, administration and youth empowerment. When she’s not learning about social justice and entrepreneurship, Fabiola enjoys writing, blogging, traveling, hiking and watching and playing basketball.

Jazmin Ochoa, Chamberlain University

Image courtesy of Jazmin Ochoa

Runner-up prize: $2,000

Jazmin is a first-generation student at Chamberlain University and is passionate about health care justice and equity. Along with her personal experiences with inequality in the health care system, she speaks of having met many patients through her work in a pharmacy who can’t afford the medication they need.

Jazmin determined to uplift marginalized groups by working as a nurse, and hopes to use her language skills — she is bilingual — to help bring health care to Spanish-speaking patients. Jazmin is focused on her long-term goal of providing and ensuring equitable health care services for all.

Kadijatou Diallo, Harvard University

Image courtesy of Kadijatou Diallo

Runner-up prize: $2,000

Kadijatou (who also goes by Kadija) is a master of public policy student at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Born in Guinea, but raised in Senegal and New York City, she considers herself a citizen of the world, rather than of any one place. Kadija has worked with organizations to advocate for various issues, including the improvement of local judiciaries, gender equity and access to social services for underserved populations.

Kadija’s primary interests revolve around improving governance to serve the needs of immigrants, implementing sustainable practices for integration and widening access to services. When she’s not engaged in studying or her advocacy work, Kadija enjoys writing and trying new restaurants with friends and daydreams about trekking across the Mongolian landscape.

Perla Ramos, UC Irvine School of Law

Image courtesy of Perla Ramos

Runner-up prize: $2,000

Perla, a first-year student at UC Irvine School of Law, is committed to providing meaningful advocacy and legal representation for minority populations in Southern California. The youngest daughter of immigrant parents, Perla had limited resources when it came to navigating the higher education system. She witnessed firsthand the job insecurity and language and education barriers that held back her parents and other members of her community.

Perla has a passion for serving low-income, underrepresented clients, which she has pursued through legal internships and an academic focus in the social sciences. As a bilingual lawyer, Perla plans to work with underserved Spanish-speaking clients who have limited access to legal representation.

Shannon Zullo, University of Arizona College of Medicine

Image courtesy of Shannon Zullo

Runner-up prize: $2,000

Medical student Shannon Zullo is in her fourth year at the University of Arizona, where she’s pursuing her passion for medicine and hopes to work toward ending health care disparities. Having received her bachelor of science degree in psychology from Duke University and a master of science degree in cellular and molecular medicine from the University of Arizona, Shannon is continuing to work toward a career as a dermatologist-researcher.

A Native American student who grew up on the Navajo reservation, Shannon has focused her research on skin cancer and dermatologic disparities within Native American communities. In recognition of her academic and clinical achievement, Shannon was a recipient of several national awards and has held a number of leadership positions, including co-president of the Association of Native American Medical Students and head coordinator of Sun Smarts, a volunteer program helping children learn about skin cancer prevention.

Shannon plans to continue pursuing academic medicine while working to close dermatologic health care gaps for underserved communities.

You’re invited to apply for Student Loan Hero’s spring 2020 scholarship

Congratulations to the winners of the fall 2019 Student Loan Hero scholarship! We wish you all the best as you continue your education and continue to make the world a better place.

If you’re a current or upcoming student, we invite you to apply to our scholarship for the spring 2020 semester. As part of your application, we ask that you write a response to the following question:

What financial challenges have you overcome growing up? How have they shaped your goals and career aspirations?

The application opened Aug. 5, 2019, and will be available until October 6, 2019. We look forward to seeing your submissions and are thankful we can provide some assistance as you work toward your degree.

Need a student loan?

Check out our top picks below or learn more about other ways to pay for college.

Lender	Variable APR	Degrees That Qualify	More Info
	1.19% – 11.98%¹	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit College Ave
	1.62% – 11.73%²	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit SallieMae
	0.94% – 11.44%³	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit Earnest
	1.64% – 11.45%⁴	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit Ascent
	1.89% – 11.92%⁵	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit SoFi
	N/A ⁶	Undergraduate Graduate	VISIT CITIZENS
Learn more about private student loan lenders. Learn more about private student loan lenders.

¹

²Sallie Mae Disclaimer: Click here for important information. Terms, conditions and limitations apply.

³Rate range above includes optional 0.25% Auto Pay discount.

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⁶

Citizens Bank Disclosures

Undergraduate Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates range from 3.48% – 11.64% (3.48% – 10.78% APR).

Graduate Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates range from 4.89% – 11.64% (4.89% – 11.34% APR).

Business/Law Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates range from 4.49% – 10.39% (4.49% – 9.68% APR).

Medical/Dental Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates range from 4.43% – 9.19% (4.44% – 8.89% APR).

Parent Loan Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates range from 4.80%-8.23% (4.80%-8.24% APR).

Bar Study Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates range from 7.39% – 12.94% (7.40% – 12.83% APR).

Medical Residency Rate Disclosure: Fixed interest rates range from 6.99% – 10.49% (6.98% – 10.09% APR).

ERL Variable Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates are based on the 30-day average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) index, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As of May 1, 2022, the 30-day average SOFR index is 0.29%. Variable interest rates will fluctuate over the term of the loan with changes in the SOFR index, and will vary based on applicable terms, level of degree and presence of a co-signer. The maximum variable interest rate is the greater of 21.00% or the prime rate plus 9.00%.

Fixed Rate Disclosure: Fixed rate ranges are based on applicable terms, level of degree, and presence of a co-signer.

Lowest Rate Disclosure: Lowest rates are only available for the most creditworthy applicants, require a 5-year repayment term, immediate repayment, a graduate or medical degree (where applicable), and include our Loyalty and Automatic Payment discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty Discount and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. Rates are subject to additional terms and conditions, and are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change.

Federal Loan vs. Private Loan Benefits: Some federal student loans include unique benefits that the borrower may not receive with a private student loan, some of which we do not offer. Borrowers should carefully review federal benefits, especially if they work in public service, are in the military, are considering possible loan forgiveness options, are currently on or considering income based repayment options or are concerned about a steady source of future income and would want to lower their payments at some time in the future. When the borrower refinances, they waive any current and potential future benefits of their federal loans. For more information about federal student loan benefits and federal loan consolidation, visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/. We also have several resources available to help the borrower make a decision on our website including Should I Refinance My Student Loans? and our FAQs. Should I Refinance My Student Loans? includes a comparison of federal and private student loan benefits that we encourage the borrower to review.

Eligibility Criteria: Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or eligible non-citizen with a creditworthy U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-signer. For applicants who have not attained the age of majority in their state of residence, a co-signer is required. Citizens Bank reserves the right to modify eligibility criteria at any time. Citizens Bank private student loans are subject to credit qualification, completion of a loan application/Promissory Note, verification of application information, and if applicable, self-certification form, school certification of the loan amount, and student’s enrollment at a Citizens Bank participating school.

Loyalty Discount Disclosure: The borrower will be eligible for a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their loan if the borrower or their co-signer (if applicable) has a qualifying account in existence with us at the time the borrower and their co-signer (if applicable) have submitted a completed application authorizing us to review their credit request for the loan. The following are qualifying accounts: any checking account, savings account, money market account, certificate of deposit, automobile loan, home equity loan, home equity line of credit, mortgage, credit card account, or other student loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. Please note, our checking and savings account options are only available in the following states: CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, and VT and some products may have an associated cost. This discount will be reflected in the interest rate disclosed in the Loan Approval Disclosure that will be provided to the borrower once the loan is approved. Limit of one Loyalty Discount per loan and discount will not be applied to prior loans. The Loyalty Discount will remain in effect for the life of the loan.

Automatic Payment Discount Disclosure: Borrowers will be eligible to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their student loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. during such time as payments are required to be made and our loan servicer is authorized to automatically deduct payments each month from any bank account the borrower designates. Discount is not available when payments are not due, such as during forbearance. If our loan servicer is unable to successfully withdraw the automatic deductions from the designated account three or more times within any 12-month period, the borrower will no longer be eligible for this discount.

Student Loan Hero Fall 2019 Scholarship Winners

Private Student Loan rates starting at 0.94% APR

Ann Potter, George Mason University

Image courtesy of Ann Potter

Fabiola Tucux, University of Pennsylvania

Image courtesy of Fabiola Tucux

Jazmin Ochoa, Chamberlain University

Image courtesy of Jazmin Ochoa

Kadijatou Diallo, Harvard University

Image courtesy of Kadijatou Diallo

Perla Ramos, UC Irvine School of Law

Image courtesy of Perla Ramos

Shannon Zullo, University of Arizona College of Medicine

Image courtesy of Shannon Zullo

You’re invited to apply for Student Loan Hero’s spring 2020 scholarship

Need a student loan?