SAVE students awarded Buffett Scholarship!
THREE of our amazing SAVE students, Chapouth from Roncalli, Parna from Millard South, and Samuel from Creighton Prep, have been awarded the prestigious Buffett Scholarship to attend UNO & UNL next year! Both Chapouth and Samuel attended All Saints Catholic School for elementary & middle school, and Parna attended Sandoz Elementary and then Central Middle.
These three students grew up exploring college campuses with SAVE, and now, they are embarking on their very own journey to higher education. We could not be more proud of their tenacity and their dedication. Hear more from our students below.
What is the Buffett Scholarship?
This scholarship was created by Susan T. Buffett and is offered to Nebraska students who plan to attend a public college in the state.
What do you have to say about the hard work & dedication it took to receive this scholarship?
Chapouth wants younger students to know that having college paid for is an unexplainable feeling, but it isn’t easy to accomplish. “You have to be consistent in your school work, study hard and take school very seriously. You also must listen to your teachers and mentors like Mr.D who want you to be successful. Your college getting paid for depends only on how hard you want to work.”
Parna and Sam both mentioned having to balance home life and school life and knowing when they needed to motivate themselves to push harder in school.
While SAVE is only a small part of your success, how did we support you to achieve this goal?
Parna expressed that SAVE helped her problem-solve and find solutions to not only academic hurdles, but life hurdles too, and Chapouth expressed that Mister D always reminded him of his goals and SAVE’s support was a “luxury.”
And as Sam puts it, “SAVE has always been there, they always got our backs, even when life gets in the way and we don’t put them first, they always put us first.”
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At SAVE, we serve students from third through twelfth grade. One of our favorite parts of this long-term program is being able to support our students through the college admissions process. Our students can utilize our pipeline partnerships with local colleges to connect with admissions teams and scholarship opportunities, all while relying on our team of facilitators who meet with students every two weeks for academic support, goal setting, and mentorship. We all win when our students succeed, and as we celebrate this HUGE accomplishment by Chapouth, Parna, and Sam, we are reminded of the unlimited potential each and every one of our students has.
A special shoutout to our University of Nebraska - Omaha partners!
This story would not be complete without mentioning our long-term partnership with the UNO Student Leadership, Involvement, and Inclusion Office. Full circle moments like this make us realize just how impactful this partnership is. As elementary schoolers, Chapouth, Parna, and Sam attended many SAVE sessions at UNO hosted by SLII. They toured campus, received mentorship from UNO students, and learned about all things college. Now, years later, they have the opportunity to attend UNO & UNL on a full-ride scholarship. Thank YOU for investing in local youth, from elementary school to college.
In the 2024-2025 academic year, UNO hosted 80 elementary schoolers for 2,880 hours throughout the school year. We can’t wait to see what those students accomplish in their futures. We hope they will take inspiration from Chapouth, Parna, and Samuel.
