The Sabrina Constellation Scholarship

The Sabrina Constellation is a nonprofit that provides financial aid to young adults attending school online because of medical needs. In honor of Sabrina Nogueira Santos (1995-2017), we aim to support students exhibiting resilience and fierce dedication to education.

Sabrina Nogueira Santos (1995-2017) was spunky, smart, and dedicated. She was sweet and kind. She was spirited and brave. Sabrina sparkled with hope, grace, and optimism, and fought as fiercely as any heroine from her beloved fantastical literary universes. Sabrina defined herself through dreams—not hardships—and planned for the future with fierce and unwavering optimism.

Sabrina had many passions and talents. She was proficient in Latin, read voraciously in her free time, and displayed a talent for journalism and prose. However, when she was born, Sabrina was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, which meant that she needed to be in and out of hospitals and medical centers with increasing regularity. As brick and mortar schooling has its inherent rigidities, online education was the most feasible venue for her to pursue academic passions. In 2013, Sabrina graduated from Stanford University’s Online High School. Online schooling was a large part of Sabrina’s life, not only because of the friends she made and the bonds she forged, but because it offered the flexibility of education that she needed.

In honor of this strong and courageous young woman, we have created The Sabrina Constellation. We wish to continue Sabrina’s tradition of spreading positivity and light, and hope that we will be able to do this inspiring individual justice.

Your application package should include:

1. A personal statement (around 500 words) to tell us about you (e.g. What obstacles have you overcome? What makes you excited to learn? What are your hobbies or passions? Do you have any special skills?).
2. A short statement (at most 250 words) addressing the following: Why do you go to school online, and why do you need financial assistance?
3. Two recommendation letters (these should be sent directly to apply@sabrinaconstellation.org by the recommenders)
1. One letter must be from your online institution verifying your attendance (or future attendance)
2. The other letter can be from anyone who knows you well! (Preferably not a relative.)
4. Creative submission
1. This is your opportunity to show us more of your hobbies and passions. Your creative submission can consist of anything that you have created: a short story, a recording, a video showing off a special talent or telling us about yourself, samples of artwork, etc. We will be displaying the creative submissions of our scholarship recipients on our website, newsletter, and Facebook page! If your submission is too large to send in the email, please attach a page with a link to the submission in the document containing your statements.
5. Full name, preferred name (if different), mailing address, and preferred email address
6. Resume/CV (optional)