BambooHR Scholarship: 2020 Winners
We are absolutely thrilled to announce the winners of our second annual BambooHR Scholarship. These exceptionally creative university students will each be awarded 5,000 dollars to help fund their education and their dreams.
This year, we asked our applicants to submit a short personal statement about how they embrace and live one of the BambooHR core values: Enjoy Quality of Life, Make It Count, Grow from Good to Great, Lead from Where You Are, Assume the Best, Be Open, Do the Right Thing. They also needed to submit either a proposal to solve a hypothetical HR problem or a short video on how they’ve grown from good to great.
Drumroll, Please!
The winners of the BambooHR Scholarship for 2020 are:
- Deborah Bernadine Artus, Arizona State University
- Dara Nicole Días Ríos, Emerson College
- Kris Huynh, Texas A&M University
Growing From Good to Great: Three Perspectives
All of our winners chose to showcase their creativity in video, wowing us with their wonderfully unique approaches and heartfelt stories on growing from good to great. Their submissions embody the overall criteria of the BambooHR Scholarship by demonstrating a clear passion for learning, growing, and helping others along the way.
To view their winning submissions, click the links under each of our winners’ photos.
Living the BambooHR Values
In her personal statement on how she lives the value of Grow from Good to Great, Deborah Bernadine Artus eloquently expresses the reverberating effect we can have as individuals on those around us: “Great by definition is ‘intensity above the normal or average.’ If I, one ‘good’ wishing to be ‘great,’ provoke other ‘goods’ to be great, then the world will be a better place. By and large, the growth from good to great begins with internal desire for improvement so contagious that it motivates others to change.”
Dara Nicole Días Ríos shares this attitude of giving back in her statement on Lead from Where You Are. “My intense desire is to transform, question, and push the limits of self-expression and communication,” she writes, “inspiring others through my actions. In essence, I use self-empowerment to promote it in others and to give back for the opportunities I have been afforded.”
Kris Huynh, who also wrote on the value of Grow from Good to Great, shares her journey of becoming a better artist by taking chances, proving that greatness isn’t just defined by skill but by how we choose to grow. “There is never one way to reach greatness,” she reminds us. “There are many options to experiment with, so I make sure to keep an open mind and allow myself to try new things to continue reaching higher goals.”
Setting People Free to Do Great Work
Our mission is to set people free to do great work, and while we obviously love HR professionals, we don’t think that mission ends there. With this scholarship, we help students fund their university education, so they can do the great work they dream of doing.
The financial strain on students isn’t trivial, as evidenced by their responses on how they intend to use this scholarship and what it means to them. “This will further my education as I am able to pursue this school year without the stress of finances, allowing my focus to be solely on academics,” says Deborah.
But their hope and drive to achieve their dreams also comes through loud and clear. As Kris explains, “The funds would help me further my education because I am a first generation college student in my family, so it’s my goal to graduate and get a degree. I want to set a good example to my sisters and show them that anything is possible when you put effort into it…It’s a small step towards reaching my dreams of becoming an architect so that I am able to create a better future for myself, my family, and my community.”
Dara Nicole likewise speaks to the ambitious future she hopes to build for herself and for others: “The funds generously provided by BambooHR will help pay my Spring 2021 tuition. After finishing my program I’d like to become a documentary producer and continue promoting art activism…I’d like to start a program for Nicaraguan artists to access better art education without having to leave their homeland.”
We congratulate our winners on their hard work, we thank them for sharing their stories with us, and we wish them the best of luck on their journey as they continue to inspire and help those around them.
Get caught up every month on all things HR. Don't worry, we promise we won't spam you.
Marie-Reine Pugh is focused on making HR simpler for HR professionals and workplaces a better place for everyone. She pulls from her previous experiences as an educator and six years of writing and researching to explore how to create inclusive company cultures that help businesses succeed.
