Hoggatt Injury Law Scholarship Spring 2025 Winner

Jacey Graham

As a second-year nursing student, Jacey aspires to become a nurse anesthetist. The resilience of her mother and late grandfather inspires her to work hard as she pursues her career goals.

Read her essay here:

I'm finding a path that will not only make me happy but also make my family proud. My mother often talks about her father, who only had a 5th-grade education and couldn’t read. She would always say he was the smartest, uneducated man she knew. He could give her driving directions anywhere in the U.S.A. but couldn't read a word on the road signs or maps.

My grandfather was a bus driver who felt less than and unworthy of doing more because he lacked a primary education. The most upsetting part of his story was that he was learning how to read right before he passed away. He purchased a reading program, "Hooked On Phonics," that he would teach himself privately to avoid embarrassment.

He wanted to own his own charter bus company, and learning to read would give him the confidence to start making his dream happen. My grandfather seemed to be a dreamer based on the stories I would hear about him. I can see he passed that on to my mom. She jokes that my granddad wanted to drive people to their destination, but she would put them on a flight to their destination as a travel agent. She has always been a big part of my life and has pushed me to follow my heart and dreams. I ensured I knew how important education was and how reading would free my soul.

My grandfather didn't get to live his dream. He died at 42 years old, so I never got the chance to meet him. He died on September 1st. Eleven years later, I was born on September 1st. I feel a connection to him even though we never met. I aim to make him proud to live out the dreams he never could. I will accomplish things he was too afraid to try or imagine. I am carrying my grandfather’s memory into college with me. I admire his determination to become a better man, even when the odds were stacked against him. He will be with me in spirit in everything I do.

I will be thinking of him when studying for my nursing degree becomes challenging, and I'm up to 4 a.m. studying for that exam, which has me rethinking my mission, especially when people are in my ear telling me not to become a Nurse Anesthetist because it will be too hard for me. I will remember how, at 42 years old, my grandfather diligently taught himself how to read, and nothing would stop him. I am preparing the younger generation and will continue to help teach them how to read, just as I do now at my old Montessori preschool.

I ensure that no preschooler is struggling or not getting special attention because if my grandfather had received the same attention, who knows what he could have become? I will continue giving my time to preschool students to ensure they all know how important they are and how much fun reading can be.

A college education is the path to success and gives me the means to help others. I could use my new peer group to rally them to support the youth literacy cause.

My mom, who has been my biggest cheerleader, attended all my travel and school volleyball games and used to be a flight attendant for a major airline, was injured during clear air turbulence in 2001. She has had three spinal surgeries and, since I was born, has struggled with her injury. She would try to do everything with us, being team mom for my brother and I’s sports teams, but as I got older, I could see the pain on her face. Recently, she has gotten worse and hasn’t been able to work like she used to. She started a home-based travel agency, which allowed her to rest when she needed to, but recently, the pain has gotten worse, and she hasn’t been able to work much. I know she is nervous about our finances, and my father tries to ease her worry, but my brother and I can see it on his face, too.

Having the opportunity to receive this scholarship will help ease their burden. My brother and I are both in college right now, and they are doing everything they can to make sure we get through college without any debt. They have no idea what this means to us. We are truly grateful to have them.