The Garden Club at Palm Coast

My name is Angelina Manjarres, and I was a recipient of the 2025 Garden Club scholarship. I am writing to once again express my gratitude for your support and the role it has played in furthering my education. I am currently in the beginning of my second semester at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I am majoring in  Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Chemistry as an honors student, with the intention of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. This past semester was full of memorable experiences, from participating in school spirit at football games-despite our unfortunate record-to attending countless welcome events. Along with this, I was able to truly immerse myself in UNC’s student life and community.

I joined UNC’s HOSA Future Health Professionals, a student organization I took part in at Flagler Palm Coast High School, and am now serving as their social chair. In this role, I organize engaging social events for club members. One of my favorite events I organized was a competition this past Halloween where members used candy to create anatomical structures.

Additionally, I took on a role as a college brand ambassador for Desden where I make social media content to advertise their products.This experience has taught me about the behind-the-scenes aspects of marketing and advertising, while also providing a creative outlet through content organization and planning.

Furthermore, I am currently enrolled in an EMT certification program offered by my university called “ACERIP”. Through this program, I am completing clinical shifts with the local fire department and hospital and expect to earn my EMT certification this May. I hope to use this certification over the summer when I return to Palm Coast to give back to our community and begin completing clinical hours for medical school.

Finally, I was chosen to serve as a pre-medical peer mentor next school year for incoming first-years. Right now, I am in training for the role along with other students and we are tasked with planning a service project, which we have chosen to focus on the Ronald McDonald home. In the coming weeks, we plan to visit our local home, interact with the children, and prepare “emergency bags” for kids who may have left toys, clothes or other important items at home, to give them a sense of security.

This first semester has been an incredibly challenging, yet rewarding time and I look forward to updating you as I continue my journey throughout undergraduate. Once again, I am endlessly grateful for your support, as it has provided me with the opportunity to pursue a top-tier education and become involved in organizations that are preparing me for my future in medicine.

Thank you,
Angelina Manjarres

Class of 2025 Scholarship Recipient

I wanted to give an update on how things are going for me at UCF. I’ve been really enjoying my time here and thought I’d let you know how my experience has been so far.

I’ve adjusted well to life at UCF, and one of the highlights has been joining the LEAD Scholars Program, where I’m learning more about leadership. It’s quickly become one of my favorite classes. As a LEAD Scholar, there are a lot of LEAD events I can attend, and they even have a calendar that makes it easy to see what’s coming up. I’ve already been able to attend a lot of events, such as a Henna event where one of my friends drew a design on my hand and a bracelet-making event for suicide prevention.

The program has also connected me with volunteering opportunities, such as Love Serving Autism, which was a really positive experience. I also discovered that they had a scavenger hunt at the library, which was a cool and fun way to get to know the space better. In addition, I rented a camera from the library and went around campus taking photos. I’ve attached some of those photos below.

Overall, I’ve been having a great time at UCF. I’ve been riding my bike around campus a lot, and I’m excited to join clubs next semester. I’m also looking forward to continuing to attend LEAD events and staying involved in volunteering.

Thank you again for your support, it truly means a lot and has helped make my experience at UCF so meaningful.

Sincerely, Jasper Donoso