Holt Scholarship Students Overcome Personal Challenges
International affairs major Timothy Lehn was only nine when he faced his first big challenge—falling bombs. “I woke up to the sound of air-raid sirens outside of my window,” he recounted to the students and donors who attended the Hamilton Holt School’s Annual Scholarship Recognition Dinner on September 15. Though he’d lived since infancy with his missionary parents in Belgrade, Serbia, the bombs upended his young life. “I had to leave everything I knew behind in an instant and without closure,” he said.
There were more challenges to come. After completing high school in Croatia, Lehn moved to the United States to earn a college degree, choosing a large university. “Although I am an American citizen, this country was almost completely foreign to me, and I found myself struggling to unearth my identity,” he recalled. “I felt uncomfortable telling my classmates I had lived my entire life overseas and could not fully relate to this country’s culture.” Then a friend told him about Rollins. “Everything I heard about this school portrayed it as a closely knit community that provided not only a world-class education, but also a supporting environment that sought to bring out the best in its students.”
Ready to make a change, Lehn transferred to Rollins Evening program at the Hamilton Holt School. “This has been the single best decision I have made in my past three years in the U.S.,” he said. “The Rollins community has been an unwavering support system through all the hardships I have faced. The professors have guided me in balancing a job with my classes, my advisors have aided me in laying out a plan for the future, and the scholarship donors have helped me overcome my financial challenges.”
Single parenthood was Daphne Sarcia's primary challenge on the road to her future. “While very young, my son Anthony suffered from chronic asthma, used a portable breathing machine, and had stomach and digestive tissues that hospitalized him continuously until the age of about eight years old,” she told the audience. “I was always losing my job because I had to take so much time off to be with him at the hospital or to care for him at home.” Though she eventually found a position that accommodated her situation and allowed her to complete two years of night school, she ultimately left it to begin a life with her fiancé. “Five years later, everything fell apart,” she said. “I have spent the past 10 years trying to stay afloat and keep a roof over our heads.”
On the advice of a friend, Sarcia enrolled at the Holt School, where courses about world culture have inspired her to seek a Ph.D. and become a strategic planner in the healthcare field. One guest lecturer, Former Ambassador to Haiti Robert Maguire, especially influenced her. “What most stood out for me were his comments concerning cultural inequities in his country and the government’s plan to address the country’s social and economic imbalance through the decentralization of healthcare,” she said. “This lecturer paved the way for the direction I will pursue professionally after graduation.”
Rollins has helped guide both students toward the future. Lehn said, “It has been through my experiences at Rollins that I have come to realize that the road does not end with the challenges I face, but with the rewards that ensue in overcoming them.”
