{"id":22902,"date":"2024-04-30T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T13:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=22902"},"modified":"2024-04-11T12:27:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T16:27:14","slug":"virginia-student-cheyenne-klapper-wins-5000-vegetarian-resource-group-2024-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2024\/04\/30\/virginia-student-cheyenne-klapper-wins-5000-vegetarian-resource-group-2024-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"VIRGINIA STUDENT CHEYENNE KLAPPER WINS $5,000 VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP 2024 SCHOLARSHIP"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Cheyenne writes: I became vegan when I was around 14 years old. For the past two years I have been working on a campaign advocating for plant-based Meals-Ready-To-Eat for military personnel. I have spent numerous hours speaking to political and military leaders about the importance of integrating a humane food option for military personnel. On top of this, as President of my school\u2019s Environmental Club, I have actively promoted plant-based eating and veganism. I spoke to a school board member about the need for more plant-based options in Arlington Public School cafeterias. I have also created and presented a short documentary about the need for the United States to move away from its reliance on animal agriculture. At the organization Center for Youth and Family Advocacy workshop, I spoke about the importance of eating more plants and the benefits, including lower blood pressure, other heart-healthy benefits, and increasing fiber intake. Being vegan is not a trend or hobby. Being vegan is who I am and the ethical guide I follow to live a life I deem morally sound.<\/p>\n

The most difficult challenge I have had to overcome was surgery due to cancer. In addition to the anxiety with a fear of reoccurrence, the surgery itself impeded me from doing the sport I love\u2014weightlifting. My greatest successes include being a vegan who is a competitive weightlifter, going to states for track and field, and becoming a certified personal trainer.<\/p>\n

We asked Cheyenne how she responds to other weightlifters who tell her that she needs to have animal protein. She related: This comes up quite often. Typically, when I tell other lifters I am vegan, they look at me funny and ask, \u201cHow do you get your protein, though?\u201d ME: \u201cI get my protein from plants. How do you think the animals you eat get their protein?\u201d THEM: They almost always say, \u201cPlants, I guess.\u201d ME; \u201cExactly, I just don\u2019t eat the middle man.\u201d I believe I can serve as a role model for America\u2019s youth\u2014as they will see and learn that a physically strong woman thrives as a vegan.<\/p>\n

I will promote veganism in the college I am going to attend, the University of Virginia (UVA), by reviving the UVA Vegan Club and pushing to create a more humane campus. I will also use my degree and education to implement policy changes and work to further animal rights through politics and policy.\u00a0 I hope to get my law degree or a Master\u2019s in Public Policy to learn the tools necessary to become an effective activist and advocate.<\/p>\n

Support Young Veg Activists<\/em><\/p>\n

To send support for additional scholarships and internships, donate at www.vrg.org\/donate<\/a> or call (410) 366-8343. You can also send a donation to VRG, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.<\/p>\n

Do you know an amazing vegan or vegetarian high school student? If so, let them know about our annual scholarship contest. The deadline for high school seniors is February 20th<\/sup> of each year. To see scholarship rules and past winners, visit www.vrg.org\/student\/scholar<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cheyenne writes: I became vegan when I was around 14 years old. For the past two years I have been working on a campaign advocating for plant-based Meals-Ready-To-Eat for military personnel. I have spent numerous hours speaking to political and military leaders about the importance of integrating a humane food option for military personnel. On […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22904,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22902\/revisions\/22904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}