2019 Alumnae Award Recipient Announced
Supasinee Trakanrungsi Selected By Joyce Ivy Alumnae
ANN ARBOR, MI, April 22, 2019 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation recently announced the names of seventy-nine young women receiving 2019 summer scholarships for pre-college study at highly selective colleges and universities. From the group of 2019 Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars, Supasinee (Natalie) Trakanrungsi, a junior at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been selected to receive the 2019 Alumnae Scholarship.
Since 2013, alumnae of the Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars program have engaged in an annual “Pay It Forward” fundraising campaign to support a scholarship for a current Summer Scholar. To date, the Joyce Ivy Foundation has named 798 Summer Scholars, including seventy-nine members of the 2019 cohort. The alumnae campaign seeks to collect small donations from alumnae, as well as donations alumnae raise in their local communities, to support a scholarship.
Working with the Fellows this year on the fundraising campaign has been a great experience, and I am so proud of all they have been able to accomplish,” said Sandra Dubaisi, JIF ’16, Joyce Ivy Senior Fellow and 2019 Philanthropy Team Director. My summer experience at Yale University has helped me decide what kind of field I wanted to go into, and gave me the encouragement to believe I could accomplish what I set my mind to. I would have never been able to have had that experience without the help and support of the Joyce Ivy Foundation, and I feel so grateful to work with our other amazing Fellows to continue providing this opportunity for our future Summer Scholars.”
Natalie Trakanrungsi has been selected as the 2019 recipient of the Alumnae Scholarship. Natalie is a talented musician who plays piano and also plays second violin in the Purple Orchestra. She is involved with Interactive Vehicle Design and Student Council, and tutors in her free time. Natalie also works part-time at Culver’s. She has aspirations of becoming a physician and will be attending Johns Hopkins this summer.
“Natalie has a clear desire to break the mold, taking it upon herself to pursue a range of interests outside of her comfort zone,” said Aditi Adhikari, JIF ’14, a 2018-2019 Fellows Co-Director and member of the Summer Scholars Selection Committee. “What impressed me most is that she consistently pushes herself to achieve more than what is expected of her, and displays an extraordinary level of empathy for those around her. I am sure that her time at Johns Hopkins this summer will catapult her into doing wonderful things in the world of medicine”
“I‘m immensely grateful to have been chosen to receive the Alumnae Scholarship and I look forward to using this wonderful opportunity given to me to expand my horizons and develop my potential.” said Natalie Trakanrungsi. “I will be challenged by exploring a new region of the country without being assured by the safety net of having my parents behind me and I’ve never been more excited. I’m thrilled to be able to indulge myself in a field I’ve always had interest in and wanted to pursue. This will undoubtedly give me the chance to learn more about myself and what I want to achieve. Meeting other ambitious, high-achieving individuals will be an enriching way to broaden my views and motivate me to continue to strive forward. I am thankful for the experiences that will be made possible because of this scholarship and I can hardly wait to inspire myself and those that I will meet.”
The 2019 Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars were selected from one the largest and most talented applicant pools in the Foundation’s history. Summer Scholars have the opportunity to study at 11 partner colleges and universities: Barnard College, Brown University, Cornell University, Emory University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Smith College, Stanford University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.
The 2019 Scholars, along with the Joyce Ivy Leader of the Year and Women of Impact award recipients will be honored at the 14th Annual Gala on May 18.
