VRG SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS OVER THE YEARS
By Amy Burger
Thanks to the generosity of donors, The Vegetarian Resource Group has awarded thousands of dollars of scholarships to graduating high school students annually since 2003. Award winners are selected based on having shown compassion, courage, and a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful world through a veggie lifestyle. This year, The Vegetarian Resource Group celebrates its 40th anniversary, and in celebration of this milestone, we caught up with eight past winners to find out what they've been up to.
Gretchen Coleman, 2012 scholarship winner, says, "The VRG made a huge impact in my ability to pursue my challenging degree at Saint Louis University and encouraged my own set of values." Coleman earned her degree in nutrition and dietetics, and now works as a registered dietitian at an eating disorder treatment center. She enjoys trying new restaurants and cooking new dishes and says, "I'm going on 19 years as a vegetarian."
Shakira Croce, a scholarship winner from 2005, says, "The VRG scholarship helped support me in pursuing a BA from Sarah Lawrence College." During college, Croce founded and led the college's animal rights organization. After graduating, Croce worked at PETA, earned her master's degree, and recently published her debut poetry collection, Leave it Raw. She lives in Long Island, New York, with her husband, two-year-old son, and two cats.
Hunter Gabel says the VRG scholarship he received in 2014 helped offset much of the cost of starting college, giving him "peace of mind in pursing my degree without starting my college career off in debt." Gabel, who studied neuroscience at Vanderbilt University, has since moved to Utah, where he works as a founding partner at a grant-writing and consulting company. He works with schools, after-school programs and food banks, securing funding to "enable them to offer vegetarian and vegan options to families who need support."
Nora Jensen (formerly Allen) received a VRG scholarship in 2007. She says the scholarship "made my education a reality!" Jensen recently celebrated her "15-year veganversary" and is pursuing her master's degree in health science and nutrition. Jensen, who works as a clinical dietitian with seniors, says, "I am seeing more older adults switching to a plant-based diet." Jensen enjoys running marathons, competing in CrossFit competitions, and volunteering at local VegFests.
Kitty Jones is a scholarship winner from 2012. She used the scholarship to help pay her tuition at UC Berkeley. Jones is an organizer with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), volunteers at an animal shelter (Jelly's Place), and at her local animal sanctuary (One Living Sanctuary). She goes to vigils organized by Stockton Animal Save and Bay Area Save local chapters, rescues animals in her neighborhood, and adds, "on my own I do food serves to the houseless community."
Randon Martin, a scholarship winner from 2008, says he's "very grateful" for the award, and has since founded a bicycle delivery business in Philadelphia. He is also a certified personal trainer and competes in Muay Thai (also known as Thai boxing). Martin says, "I'm happy to share that plant-based eating is much more popular than it was among athletes when I first became vegan in 2005. Participating in athletics is also a great way to showcase the benefits of a healthy and nutritious vegan diet!"
Izzy Peluzzo, a 2014 scholarship winner, says, "The scholarship provided a way out of taking on a lot of college debt." After receiving the VRG scholarship, she "attended college in Richmond, Virginia, and studied visual arts with an emphasis in experimental film." Since graduating, she's worked on local vegetable farms and says, "I'm currently working on a grain farm in North Carolina where I operate a stone-mill to make stone-ground grits, cornmeal, and flours."
Sierra Van Zandt (formerly Predovich) is a 2008 scholarship winner who says the award helped her pay for school at University of Oregon, where she earned her bachelor of science degree in environmental science and Spanish and studied abroad in Costa Rica. Van Zandt has since moved home to California and works at a nonprofit as an outdoor educator. She enjoys cooking, backpacking, camping, and hiking with her husband, and says that her parents became vegetarian because of her influence.
