Public Encouraged to Vote for 2 Students with CF to Receive $22K AbbVie Scholarships

Voting for two students to receive two scholarships — valued at $22,000 each — is now open to the public until Oct. 9, pharmaceutical company AbbVie has announced.

After the voting period, AbbVie’s 2019 Thriving Undergraduate Scholarship will be awarded to an undergraduate student with CF, and its Thriving Graduate Scholarship to a graduate CF student.

“Continuing my education has not only been challenging physically to keep up with my studies, but also mentally,” Jacqueline Johnson, who received the undergraduate scholarship in 2018, said in a news release.

“Being awarded an AbbVie CF Scholarship gave me the peace of mind knowing that I could pursue my dream of becoming a physician assistant without worrying about my family who support the cost of care for my brother who also lives with CF,” she said. “As a physician assistant I will use my curiosity for research and compassion to help others living with CF thrive to their fullest potential.”

Forty students with CF are in competition for the two awards this year. Earlier in 2019, the students were awarded $3,000 each in AbbVie scholarships for the 2019-2020 academic year, which brings the full value of the scholarships to $25,000 for the two students who win the most votes for the undergraduate and graduate awards. All the students were selected based on their academic excellence, creativity, and involvement in the community.

Voting for the 2019 undergraduate and graduate scholarships opened on Sept. 25, and will continue until Oct. 9, at 11 am EST. The public can vote online at https://www.abbviecfscholarship.com or by texting the student’s personalized ID code to “78464.”

The decision to award these scholarships will be partially based on the students who get the most votes during the two-week voting period, as well as “on a combination of their academic achievements, community involvement/extracurricular activities, essay and creative presentation scores.”

“Students within the CF community continue to captivate us through their determination to succeed in the classroom, and through their creative talents that show us how they overcome challenges in their everyday lives,” said John Duffey, AbbVie’s vice president of U.S. Specialty.

“At AbbVie, we are proud to continue our commitment to these students and their families through the financial support from the AbbVie CF Scholarship,” Duffey said.

The company will announce the winners in late October.