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Mitsouki Garvey-Sanchez ’19, a communication major, was the featured student speaker at the University’s Endowed Scholarship Luncheon, an annual event that brings together donors and the students who directly benefit from their generosity.

April 11, 2019

By Dave Cranshaw, Office of Marketing & Communications

It was the beginning of Mitsouki Garvey-Sanchez’s senior year, and she was facing a crossroads. Despite working a part-time job and receiving a Presidential Scholarship – an award given to the University’s highest-achieving incoming students – she says the "money ran out".

"I was very close to dropping out, not because of my grades or because I was unable to attend classes, but because I had no way of paying the outstanding balance," she said at the University’s Endowed Scholarship luncheon, an annual event that brings together University benefactors and the students who directly benefit from their support. "I almost gave up hope that I would be able to finish my education."

"The funding I received from the Alumni Association Scholarship made the difference for me. It allowed me to complete my education when I thought I had hit a roadblock."Mitsouki Garvey-Sanchez ’19

Referencing a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. about always moving forward, she said, "I didn’t think I could crawl my way forward any longer."

That was until she learned that she was a recipient of the Alumni Association Scholarship.

"The funding I received from the Alumni Association Scholarship made the difference for me," she said. "It allowed me to complete my education when I thought I had hit a roadblock," she said.

A communication major, she has been active with the , served as anchor for the Charger Bulletin News, a weekly show that covers the top news on campus, and interned with

"ËÄÉ«AV of New Haven has provided me with so many amazing opportunities, and I will forever be grateful for them," she said.

"By supporting a scholarship, you are all making an investment in our students’ futures and in their limitless potential."President Steven Kaplan

An important component of The Charger Challenge: The Campaign for the University of New Haven – which was launched as a precursor to the University’s centennial in 2020 – is increasing the amount of scholarship support that the University can provide deserving students.

Since the start of the campaign, 94 new endowed scholarships have been established, nearly doubling the number of endowed scholarships the University is able to offer its students.

"Scholarship support plays an integral role in enabling our students to pursue a University of New Haven education and in providing them with meaningful opportunities to learn, grow, and pursue their dreams," President Steven Kaplan said at the event. "By supporting a scholarship, you are all making an investment in our students’ futures and in their limitless potential."

Ultimately, Garvey-Sanchez said that the biggest lesson she learned is that a roadblock can lead to a new beginning.

"On behalf of all of the students who have been impacted by generous scholarship donors like I have been, I want to say thank you," she said. "Your support helps us keep crawling, walking, and even allows us to fly."