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Last week, we introduced you to eight outstanding finalists for this year’s “Hope for Healing Scholarship,” each with an inspirational story to tell. We can’t thank them enough for their contributions in the field of behavioral health and wish them the very best in their pursuits. They will go far!
Once again, the selection committee faced the impossible but necessary task of choosing two winners. This year’s winners of the Hope for Healing Scholarship are Joseph Swaress and Dona Nguyen, and in the coming weeks you’ll get to know each of them better in a close-up feature blog. For now, we wanted to give you more of an introduction to these two exceptional individuals.
Joseph Swaress – Undergraduate Recipient
Last week, Swaress was honored as the “Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Science 2023-2024 Undergraduate Researcher of the Year.” It’s another step closer to his end goal of becoming a “research-oriented physician.” The senior at FAU is currently pursuing a dual degree in Psychology and Neuroscience, with a minor in Biology.
Swaress has faced and overcome much adversity as a young person. On February 14, 2018, he was in class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, when the assistant principal’s order to evacuate came over the school’s PA system, prompting Swaress to run for his life. He would soon learn the reason for the order: A gunman had opened fire, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.
Swaress was fortunate to “have those closest to me still alive and healthy,” he wrote in his application essay, but he would still have to work through the trauma of that day. “With time and proper support,” he was able to heal, only to be diagnosed months later with stage 4 Hodgkins lymphoma.
That journey through cancer would teach Swaress many lessons. He learned that he could be incredibly resilient. He also discovered “the true meaning of empathy,” which he defines as “being able to imagine what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes.” Today, Swaress seeks to show empathy in his interactions with others, as an extension of his belief that we need more empathy than ever in our present-day world. Read more on Joseph Swaress’s Feature.
Dona Nguyen – Graduate Recipient
In 1996, Nguyen and her family fled war-torn Bosnia, arriving as refugees in this country. They settled in Texas, a place that in many ways could not have been more different than Nguyen’s homeland Yugoslavia.
Nguyen would face challenges in the years to come as she sought “to adapt to a new culture, language and societal norms.” Growing up, she dealt with a “profound sense of otherness.” Generational and cultural gaps within her own family amplified the isolation she felt from being “an outsider.”
These experiences as a refugee were formative in many ways. Nguyen developed a deep empathy for those on the margins of society. She came to appreciate “diversity and celebrating the richness that comes from cultural differences.” She also discovered the healing power of self-love and acceptance—as well as therapy, which became an integral part of her personal and professional journey.
Today, Nguyen is a licensed counselor in the state of Texas and will be matriculating into the Ph.D. program at Liberty University. The first-generation college graduate and mother of two is pursuing her license as a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor, with the goal of mentoring new clinicians in the field. Read more on Dona Nguyen’s Feature.
Interested in the Hope for Healing Scholarship? The 2025 application period begins tomorrow. Find everything you need to know to apply here.
