For DonorsFor Applicants
user profile avatar

Mariana Pinder

4,785

Bold Points

24x

Nominee

1x

Finalist

Bio

Hii, from the Bahamas My name is Mariana Pinder and I am a first gen college student starting this fall. I am very passionate about the environment we live in. Being from the Bahamas, climate change has drastically affected my country with detrimental hurricanes. I have lost numerous amounts of family members and friends in hurricane Dorian of 2019. I want to be and will be an Environmental Lawyer to help instill regulations to help the environment for our future. I am a great candidate for every scholarship because I am willing to make sacrifices and take a stand on improving our way of life and ensure the safety of our future. Anything is possible, if you can think it you can do it. I am in true need of scholarships to pursue my dream and to attend my first choice school Hofstra University. It will be a blessing to win scholarships to assist my family in paying my way into college in this uncertain time living through a pandemic and losing everything in hurricane Dorian. My second passion would be culinary arts. I enjoy learning about new cuisines from different cultures and trying my hand at preparing those dishes. I would love to study abroad to experience the art of culinary while getting my bachelor's degree in Environmental Science. I would then open my own restaurant exploring the food of different cultures, such as Hispanic, Caribbean, and eloquent famous dishes.

Education

John A. Ferguson Senior High

High School
2018 - 2021
  • GPA:
    4

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Environmental Lawyer

    • Dream career goals:

      Open my own Law Firm in Environmental Law

    • Teaching toddlers to swim

      Swift Swim Team
      2017 – 20192 years

    Sports

    Soccer

    Club
    2018 – 20191 year

    Swimming

    Varsity
    2018 – Present6 years

    Awards

    • 1&2 place in Nationals

    Research

    • International Baccalaureate Contemporary History

      Independent — Undergraduate Researcher
      2020 – Present

    Arts

    • Film Festival

      Cinematography
      County Showcase for Highschool Magnet Programs
      2018 – 2018
    • African American History Showcase

      Dance
      Lead Dance Instructor Assistant , Black History Month , Highschool Showcase
      2019 – 2020
    • John A Ferguson Senior High School

      Ceramics
      N/A
      2020 – Present

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Miami Dade Animal Rescue — I fostered a puppy for a month and was able to get him adopted
      2019 – 2020
    • Public Service (Politics)

      Bahamas Engineering and Technology Advancement (BETA) — Head of Youth
      2017 – 2020
    • Volunteering

      Environmental Club — Bring about Awareness about the Environment
      2019 – Present
    • Volunteering

      Best Buddies — Peer Buddy for Special Needs Students
      2020 – Present
    • Advocacy

      Diversity Club — President
      2019 – Present
    • Volunteering

      Key Club — Student Club Member
      2019 – Present
    • Volunteering

      Miami Vineyard Community Church — Volunteer Worker
      2019 – Present

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Entrepreneurship

    Bubba Wallace Live to Be Different Scholarship
     I believe that everyone has a story, and I believe that anyone can overcome their past or circumstances faced. I am a student from the Islands of the Bahamas. I moved to Miami in my sophomore year of high school without my parents, to acquire a better educational opportunity. Keeping up with the tsunami of new and divergent people was a lesson in itself. At the age of fourteen, leaving behind a life I once knew, to being swept into a new reality of my life was extremely challenging.  In September 2019 Hurricane Dorian struck my home island, of Grand Bahama. I felt powerless knowing that my parents were in the Bahamas and I was in Miami watching the whole ordeal on the news as my home was torn apart. My family and I lost everything that day; I lost loved ones and classmates still on the island. It seemed as though their lives stopped, and mine continued. Being separated from the ones I loved in that time of pain and sorrow, took a toll on my mental health. While dealing with the devastation and still not being able to see my family I was still handling the demanding life of a student with an IB curriculum. I was depressed for months at a time and became callous towards the ones currently around me; my life was changed forever.  Foundational columns with no walls and no roof stood before me. A broken home washed away by a hurricane, all that was left of my childhood now indistinguishable except my brother's urn. As my parents literally picked their lives off the ground, they found comfort that they had at least found my brother’s ashes. The destruction was so great, that from the clothes in the closet to the dishes in the kitchen everything had been whipped away, but my brother was still here. At that moment, gratitude filled my heart, because I was still alive and so were my parents. We then picked up the pieces and kept going.  This tragedy is how I discovered what my career goals were, and wanting to major in environmental science gave me the motivation to start focusing more on my academic life. I found a new sense of appreciation for the environment in which I am surrounded. Nature is such a miraculous concept that I believe must be sustained and nurtured for our future generations. After hurricane Dorian, I came to the realization that hurricanes are only getting worst over the years, and climate change is the main cause of this. I want to inform and educate others about the environment, and the urgency of needed change. I plan to open my own Law Firm in the Bahamas and in the United States for Environmental Law practices, to invoke a new generation of thinkers and achievers for the environment. Lessons learned from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. I have now positively changed my perspective on hurricane Dorian as a gift to my life instead of a tragedy. It made me trust that there is a purpose behind my obstacles, and how I have grown from them has defined my character. In life, the journey it takes to get to a destination is sometimes more important than the destination itself. Nowadays, throughout every trial and tribulation, I know that the result would have been worth the struggle. In closing, I would like to leave you with a quote that further solidifies what I wrote, "Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful", best stated by Joshua J.
    Impact Scholarship for Black Students
     I believe that everyone has a story, and I believe that anyone can overcome their past or circumstances faced. I am a student from the Islands of the Bahamas. I moved to Miami in my sophomore year of high school without my parents, to acquire a better educational opportunity. Keeping up with the tsunami of new and divergent people was a lesson in itself. At the age of fourteen, leaving behind a life I once knew, to being swept into a new reality of my life was extremely challenging.  In September 2019 Hurricane Dorian struck my home island, of Grand Bahama. I felt powerless knowing that my parents were in the Bahamas and I was in Miami watching the whole ordeal on the news as my home was torn apart. My family and I lost everything that day; I lost loved ones and classmates still on the island. It seemed as though their lives stopped, and mine continued. Being separated from the ones I loved in that time of pain and sorrow, took a toll on my mental health. While dealing with the devastation and still not being able to see my family I was still handling the demanding life of a student with an IB curriculum. I was depressed for months at a time and became callous towards the ones currently around me; my life was changed forever.  Foundational columns with no walls and no roof stood before me. A broken home washed away by a hurricane, all that was left of my childhood now indistinguishable except my brother's urn. As my parents literally picked their lives off the ground, they found comfort that they had at least found my brother’s ashes. The destruction was so great, that from the clothes in the closet to the dishes in the kitchen everything had been whipped away, but my brother was still here. At that moment, gratitude filled my heart, because I was still alive and so were my parents. We then picked up the pieces and kept going.  This tragedy is how I discovered what my career goals were, and wanting to major in environmental science gave me the motivation to start focusing more on my academic life. I found a new sense of appreciation for the environment in which I am surrounded. Nature is such a miraculous concept that I believe must be sustained and nurtured for our future generations. After hurricane Dorian, I came to the realization that hurricanes are only getting worst over the years, and climate change is the main cause of this. I want to inform and educate others about the environment, and the urgency of needed change. I plan to open my own Law Firm in the Bahamas and in the United States for Environmental Law practices, to invoke a new generation of thinkers and achievers for the environment. Lessons learned from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. I have now positively changed my perspective on hurricane Dorian as a gift to my life instead of a tragedy. It made me trust that there is a purpose behind my obstacles, and how I have grown from them has defined my character. In life, the journey it takes to get to a destination is sometimes more important than the destination itself. Nowadays, throughout every trial and tribulation, I know that the result would have been worth the struggle. In closing, I would like to leave you with a quote that further solidifies what I wrote, "Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful", best stated by Joshua J.
    Brandon Zylstra Road Less Traveled Scholarship
     I believe that everyone has a story, and I believe that anyone can overcome their past or circumstances faced. I am a student from the Islands of the Bahamas. I moved to Miami in my sophomore year of high school without my parents, to acquire a better educational opportunity. Keeping up with the tsunami of new and divergent people was a lesson in itself. At the age of fourteen, leaving behind a life I once knew, to being swept into a new reality of my life was extremely challenging.   In September 2019 Hurricane Dorian struck my home island, of Grand Bahama. I felt powerless knowing that my parents were in the Bahamas and I was in Miami watching the whole ordeal on the news as my home was torn apart. My family and I lost everything that day; I lost loved ones and classmates still on the island. It seemed as though their lives stopped, and mine continued. Being separated from the ones I loved in that time of pain and sorrow, took a toll on my mental health. While dealing with the devastation and still not being able to see my family I was still handling the demanding life of a student with an IB curriculum. I was depressed for months at a time and became callous towards the ones currently around me; my life was changed forever.  Foundational columns with no walls and no roof stood before me. A broken home washed away by a hurricane, all that was left of my childhood now indistinguishable except my brother's urn. As my parents literally picked their lives off the ground, they found comfort that they had at least found my brother’s ashes. The destruction was so great, that from the clothes in the closet to the dishes in the kitchen everything had been whipped away, but my brother was still here. At that moment, gratitude filled my heart, because I was still alive and so were my parents. We then picked up the pieces and kept going.  This tragedy is how I discovered what my career goals were, and wanting to major in environmental science gave me the motivation to start focusing more on my academic life. I found a new sense of appreciation for the environment in which I am surrounded. Nature is such a miraculous concept that I believe must be sustained and nurtured for our future generations. After hurricane Dorian, I came to the realization that hurricanes are only getting worst over the years, and climate change is the main cause of this. I want to inform and educate others about the environment, and the urgency of needed change. I plan to open my own Law Firm in the Bahamas and in the United States for Environmental Law practices, to invoke a new generation of thinkers and achievers for the environment. Lessons learned from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. I have now positively changed my perspective on hurricane Dorian as a gift to my life instead of a tragedy. It made me trust that there is a purpose behind my obstacles, and how I have grown from them has defined my character. In life, the journey it takes to get to a destination is sometimes more important than the destination itself. In closing, I would like to leave you with a quote that further solidifies what I wrote, "Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful", best stated by Joshua J.
    Bold Moments No-Essay Scholarship
    The summer of 2019 I studied abroad in the Bahamas. I attended a S.T.E.M camp called Bahamas Engineering and Technology Advancement Camp (BETA) for young adults. I was granted a scholarship to broaden my knowledge about different aspects of Engineering, and given the opportunity to win an award. In the three week camp, I developed different engineered projects and experiments which I presented to the CEOs of the organization. For an example, I created a prosthetic leg from materials I gathered, eco-friendly and advanced life vests, and a water bottle demonstration of buoyancy and how a submarine sinks and rises.
    Undiscovered Brilliance Scholarship for African-Americans
    I am a seventeen year old foreign exchange student from the Islands of the Bahamas. I moved to Miami my sophomore year in high school without my parents. I’ve lived with a legal guardian for 3 years now and my life could not be more challenging. With keeping up with the rules of my guardian and to staying in touch with my parents, my years of high school were very stressful and tedious. Especially my junior year of High School. September 2019 marks the date in which the catastrophic hurricane named Dorian struck my beautiful Island of the Bahamas. I was devastated, my parents being in the Bahamas and myself being in Miami watching the news as my home was being torn apart was truly heart breaking. My family lost everything that day. My parents lost their house and all of their belongings. My family lost loved ones and I lost classmates that I left behind. It seemed as though my family and loved ones life stopped and mine kept going. Being apart from the ones I love in that time truly took a toll on my mental health. I was depressed for months at a time where I didn’t want to do anything, I became callous towards the ones currently around me. It wasn’t until one day I got on my knees and I gave God thanks. That day I had gratitude in my heart, I had both parents still breathing and a support system around me that cared; a bright future. This is when I discovered what my career goals would be in the near future. I found a new sense of appreciation for the environment I lived in. Mother Earth is such a miraculous place and we must take care of it. After hurricane Dorian I came to the realization that hurricanes are only getting worst by the years, and climate change is the main cause of this. My career goals would be, to become an Environmental Lawyer so I can instill laws and regulation to ensure the survival of our planet. One day I also plan on opening my own Law Firm in the Bahamas for Environmental Law practices. I want to inform and educate other about the urgency we must take on the environment. I am currently in the Environmental Club in my high school, where we perform consecutive cleanups all over Miami and especially on beaches. We bring about awareness to others on ways they can lessen their ecological footprint. I will continuously educate myself on what I can do to make this world a better place to live in and to always encourage others to do the same. I am currently a senior in my high school and the President of Diversity Club. This is special type of organization where we bring together people of different cultures, skin colors and beliefs. I help educate young students of my school how to welcome a new way of thinking. That being prejudice or bias towards someone based upon their color or beliefs shouldn’t be the norm. To invoke a new generation of thinkers. Everyday I work on the way I think towards others and the way I perceive different cultures and beliefs. How I can improve my social skills to be successful in my career and in life as a whole. I am a loving student, daughter and friend, I enjoy being compassionate to others and helping others learn something new each day as I learn something new also.