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Amad Amedy and Tamera Miller are this year’s distinguished winners of FHE Health’s annual “Hope for Healing Scholarship.” The two applicants overcame the stiffest competition yet to earn the prestigious honor—a grant of $5000 to offset tuition and educational costs.
Now in its second year, the Hope for Healing Scholarship supports two outstanding students (one graduate and one undergraduate) in the field of behavioral health. Last year 471 people applied for the award. This year’s selection process was even more competitive: FHE’s scholarship committee received 600 applications from around the country, and many of the applicants came from top colleges and universities.
More About the 2021 Recipients
Amedy, who is the 2021 graduate-level recipient, is a medical student at the University of Tennessee, where he is specializing in Neuroscience and Behaviors. Miller, this year’s undergraduate-level recipient, will be earning a Bachelor’s in psychology at the University of Washington Tacoma.
Miller and Amedy each have an extraordinary story to share about how they ended up in their field and the experiences that shaped their academic and professional journey. Check back for the release of those moving personal stories in the coming days and weeks! In the meantime, here is a short introduction to Amedy and Miller:
Amad Amedy is a recent Fulbright Scholar and, before that, attended Wesleyan College on a full scholarship. As the youngest of four, Amedy grew up working at his family’s pizzeria. By the age of 17, he was managing the restaurant while juggling studies, sports and other extracurriculars.
More than 20 years ago, Amedy’s family fled genocide in Northern Iraq to start a new life in America. Like many refugee families, they lived paycheck to paycheck, had limited access to affordable healthcare, and never discussed mental health issues. For Amedy, that experience was a first introduction to the mental health disparities that immigrant communities often face—and that he would like to address as a future doctor.
Read more about Amad’s Story
Tamera Miller is not a traditional undergraduate. At 30, she is embarking on a Bachelor’s in Psychology at the University of Washington Tacoma, and after graduation plans to pursue her Master’s degree in Social Work. Miller grew up in a home plagued by poverty and parental addiction and mental illness. When the stress and trauma of living in that environment seemed impossible to bear, Miller turned to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism—up until the age of 25, when she got sober.
Today Miller is successfully in long-term recovery and regularly shares her story with different groups. Her dream is to open a halfway house named after her mother, “The Mary-Beth House,” for women who have experienced trauma.
Catch more of Miller’s amazing life story in the next couple of weeks!
The Selection Process and Criteria
Amedy and Miller were among eight finalists who advanced to the final stage of selection and whom we profiled in an official March 10 announcement. To get there, they had to fulfill the required application criteria. They also submitted a well-written, personal essay that evidenced things like a compelling personal connection to and passion for their field of study; maturity and self-directedness in relation to educational and vocational goals; a track record of service/leadership/academic distinction in their area of interest; and, demonstrated need.
The 2021 Hope for Healing Scholarship is one way that FHE is investing in the future of behavioral healthcare and tomorrow’s leaders in the profession. This year’s recipients embody the message of hope for healing that is also FHE’s mission.
Our Upcoming 2022 Scholarships
While the 2020-2021 scholarship period has closed, the next period will be starting up shortly. Expect to hear more in the weeks ahead about when we’ll be accepting applications again—this time for the 2022 Hope for Healing Scholarship!
