By Dr. Jim Dahle, WCI Founder
Today and Wednesday, we will be introducing you to the 2024 WCI Scholarship winners. Today’s post will include the five winners in the Financial category. Wednesday’s post will include the five winners in the Inspiring Stories category.
This is the 10th year for the WCI scholarship. The purposes of the scholarship are to give back to the community that has given us so much; to promote financial literacy among professional students; and, most importantly, to directly reduce the financial burden of a professional education and, thus, reduce indebtedness.
We had a record 1,190 applicants this year—866 in the Inspiring Stories category and 324 in the Financial category. For the Financial category, we gave these instructions to the applicants:
“The Financial category essays will describe what you have done in the past or will do in the future to become financially literate or to help others do so. They may explain a financial principle or experience, or they may give advice to your peers. They may be humorous or serious. But they have to be about a financial topic.”
Thank you to all who applied even though less than 1% won anything. We also had 65 volunteer judges who read a ton of these essays. Thank you so much. This program would not run without you. This year, the scholarship will give out $59,200, or $5,920, to each of the 10 winners. Over the last 10 years, we have given away a total of $543,411 in cash, plus tens of thousands of dollars in prizes.
The funding for the scholarship comes mostly from WCI profits and the scholarship sponsors with occasional small contributions from regular white coat investors.
Scholarship Sponsors
Thanks again to our sponsors of the scholarship. Without them, it would be a much less generous scholarship. Thank you for supporting those who support our mission and outreach efforts.
Platinum Level Contributors ($8,000 or more)
The White Coat Investor, LLC
Bob Bhayani (DrDisabilityQuotes.com) – Disability and Life Insurance
Matthew Wiggins (Doc Insure LLC) – Disability and Life Insurance
Larry Keller (Physician Financial Services) – Disability and Life Insurance
Gold Level Contributors ($1,500 or more)
Chad Chubb (WealthKeel LLC) – Financial Advising
Mike Caligiuri (Caligiuri Financial) – Financial Advising
Jon Appino (Contract Diagnostics) – Contract Review/Negotiation/Compensation Analysis
Dennis Hursh (Physician Agreements Health Law) – Contract Review/Negotiation
Johanna Turner (Fox and Company CPAs) – Tax Strategizing
Rick Warren (Insuring Income) – Disability and Life Insurance
Silver Level Contributors
NW Legacy Law, PS – Estate Planning and Probate
2024 WCI Scholarship Winners – Financial Category
In no particular order, here are our five winners. We have included an excerpt from their essay and a link to the full post published elsewhere on the site.
Neel Patel of the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Neel wrote an essay that gives us insight into the immigrant mindset. While he was a little disappointed as a kid to find eight extra people living in his small house, he has internalized the lessons his father was teaching about money.
“My parents, both working blue-collar jobs, faced immense challenges adjusting to this new reality. I noticed that my mom picked up additional shifts while my father began working on weekends to earn more money. I began to share my clothes with my younger cousin and a bedroom with my brother and two cousins. We ate meals on the floor due to the lack of space around the kitchen table. To this day, I’m still amazed at how my mom managed to cook for 14 people. During holidays and birthdays, my parents redirected their savings toward elaborate dinners for everyone instead of buying gifts for my brother and me. I was astounded by their ability to keep a roof over our heads and to ensure we were fed . . .
I came to deeply appreciate my father’s commitment to supporting all four of us through college. Despite knowing money was tight, I discovered that my parents had been diligently saving to make this possible. They avoided buying new furniture, sought out used cars, and refrained from dining out. Through securing financial aid for my cousins and navigating reasonable loans, my parents managed to fund our college education. As a result of their dedication, I am now in medical school, my brother and older cousin are engineers, and the younger one is preparing for the MCAT with hopes of attending medical school. The decisions my parents made have not only benefited our immediate family but also positioned us to support our future families one day.”
You can read the rest of the essay here.
Sophia Xu of the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Sophia shares another immigrant financial story in her essay. But it’s not necessarily one of financial literacy.
“Growing up penniless in China, my parents fended off childhood starvation by eating tree bark and leaves, and they escaped political turmoil to America with just $20 in their pockets. While they both found work as engineers in the small Texas town we lived in, their lack of financial education coupled with having to support each of their parents (along with language and cultural barriers) led to gross mismanagement of the salaries they worked overtime for. After paying medical bills for my uninsured grandparents, my dad had an eye for shiny electronics and gadgets—a huge telescope that was discarded after he couldn’t figure out how to focus it, a brand new electric scooter that still sits in our garage today, and hundreds of other toys that couldn’t feed my brother and me and didn’t pay the internet or electricity bills. My mom, whose trusting and optimistic nature made her easily susceptible to being taken advantage of, was constantly trying to regain lost income by investing in “exponential-gains-guaranteed” projects. She invested much of her savings into her removed cousin’s new startup that crashed several months later, and she bought boxes of our neighbor’s organic and all-natural creams and lotions that ended up being much harder to sell than promised.
I learned not to rely on their money. I began working at 14, holding multiple jobs throughout high school as a lifeguard, tutor, piano accompanist, and whatever else I could adapt my skills for. My earnings provided a basic, steady income source for my brother and me when our parents couldn’t. Due to the increased crowdedness from my sick grandparents moving in and the daily conflicts that arose between my family members, I moved out at 16 and attended a publicly funded boarding school for high school.
Learning to live as a financially independent teen, I was suddenly grateful for the childhood years I spent meticulously calculating my daily caloric intake and output. The skills I honed during my weight-loss journey transferred well to successful budgeting. Just as losing weight followed a straightforward equation, saving money also did: money earned – money spent = money lost or saved. I applied the same core tenets I had used years earlier: setting reachable goals, committing to consistency, and enduring sacrifices.
I felt the same twinge of envy watching my friends buy cars and concert tickets as I did when I watched them slurp down those delicious frappuccinos, but I had strength knowing I had been through it once and could get through it again.
Sacrifice was difficult, but it was the only option.”
You can read the rest of the essay here.
Samy Sasoun of the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Samy discovered WCI as a 19-year-old trying to figure out if his recently deceased father had money somewhere besides his checking account. (He didn’t.) After reading this essay, I wasn’t surprised to see how much the scholarship judges loved this one.
“After running the numbers, I discovered I could sell the property and pay the debts and fees while securing around $20,000. Most of this money would go toward rent and bills my father didn’t pay for months before his passing, but at least Con Edison and National Grid would stop threatening to cut our power and gas. I began teaching myself everything I needed to know about small estate proceedings and probate administrations. I had to re-certify my parents’ marriage certificate, file a probate administration in New York and Florida, clear the liens on the title, and hire lawyers in three different fields between the two states to process everything.
With government facilities shut down during COVID, this task proved more difficult than usual. I looked back at my organic chemistry class, thinking about how I would do anything to return to my tiny dorm, where my biggest worry was an upcoming exam.
Throughout these proceedings, I felt a clock ticking. I attempted to keep my family afloat by applying for relief through FEMA and NYS Emergency Rental Assistance programs. However, government programs are designed to make applying as difficult as possible—even when you qualify. I eventually received funds from those programs after a mountain of hoops to jump through. Still, by the time everything went through, I was so deep in unpaid bills that it no longer covered the balance. Instead of clearing our debts, I just reset the “threats clock” (and not for the last time, I might add). This cycle repeated every few months for nearly two years while my mom jumped between jobs and I juggled my responsibilities as a student.
When I received a check after selling the house, I felt at ease, knowing we could catch up with our debts and turn things around. I used some of that money to help my mom begin her own transportation business, giving her much more freedom than the initial job she obtained. This was the moment I knew my dreams of becoming a physician were still alive, and I could allot time to pursue the extracurriculars needed to become a strong applicant.
My mother and I were finally in a position not to be drowning in debt collections, but we were still living paycheck-to-paycheck with very little to spare every month. What a luxury it was for us to reach that position of barely being able to afford our frugal lifestyle. At least I learned from my father’s mistakes—I opened a Roth IRA for myself and a custodial Roth IRA for my brother. Half of every surplus dollar goes to an emergency fund, and the other half is split between these two IRAs for my brother and me.”
You can read the rest of the essay here.
Isaiah Adetoro of Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Isaiah taught five financial principles in his essay.
“As my financial knowledge and passion grew, I became eager to share what I had learned. From this experience, I identified five key principles of personal finance: the power of asking, DIY, budgeting, being intentional, and giving back.
First, I learned the power of asking. When I needed a mattress, I found one that was out of my budget. I decided to ask the store clerk if she could offer a discount within my price range. To my surprise, her manager approved the discount, saving me over $350. This experience taught me not to shy away from asking for discounts, upgrades, or opportunities. I have since applied this lesson to various areas of my life—negotiating rent, reaching out to 50 researchers for a research internship, getting airplane seat upgrades, and applying to over 500 jobs during the pandemic. The savings and opportunities I’ve gained by asking have been substantial, and this practice has significantly enhanced my financial and professional growth . . .
Fifth, giving back has been incredibly rewarding. My passion for helping others influenced my decision to pursue a career in medicine. In terms of financial literacy, I created a PowerPoint presentation for my classmates, highlighting the principles I’ve learned. I also shared this presentation with two company executives I met on separate flights. One of them mentioned she would work on her budget and apply other insights from the presentation. Also, a friend used some of the principles to negotiate a car repair and secure a free oil change. Seeing the positive impact of financial education on my family, peers, and community brings me immense joy. Witnessing others achieve financial freedom and stability reaffirms my commitment to this cause and motivates me to continue sharing knowledge.”
You can read the rest of the essay here.
Stephen Ruisi of the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law
Stephen is our first law student winner of the WCI scholarship. He tells a delightful story of raiding the 529s he had for his children to return to school and embark upon a new career. I suspect that supporting their dad will turn out to be a darn good investment for those kids.
“I was 29 when I was diagnosed with leukemia. I was finishing my second year as an evening law student. I was a full-time insurance professional and the new father of a 6-month-old son. My diagnosis came as I was preparing for finals. I sat through my exams while carrying the mental weight of the inherent uncertainty of a cancer diagnosis. Given my diagnosis, I was forced to withdraw from law school and take a leave of absence from my career. Worst of all, I had to relinquish the duties and joys of fatherhood with no guarantee that I would be able to return.
As . . . my oncology adventure moved further away in the rearview mirror, I ‘grew up’ as a parent and professional. However, my desire to return to school never wavered as I was determined to finish what I started. And through the support of my wife and children, I was fortunate to continue my journey toward achieving my legal degree. In August 2022, I resigned from my job and enrolled in the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law (UNH) on a full-time basis. Because my prior credits lapsed, I entered as a first-year student . . .
After making the decision that returning to school full-time was necessary, my choice of school was determined by financial considerations. Taking out student loans would have incurred debt that was not sustainable in either the short or long term. I opted to attend UNH due to financial aid rather than paying the full cost of attending a top-30 law school. While attending the more prestigious school had the potential for greater postgraduate opportunities, attending UNH was the financially responsible decision. However, my grades have afforded me the same opportunities that would have been available had I attended the higher-ranked school.”
You can read the rest of the essay here.
Congratulations to all five of this year’s scholarship winners in the Financial category. May this money help you to reach your dreams without quite so much financial worry holding you back. Tomorrow, we’ll reveal the five winners in the Inspiring Stories category.
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