High school graduate of Pocono Mountain West High School and current undergraduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology, 18-year-old Hope De Jesus is immensely excited and honored to be this year’s winner of the Abacus Life Scholarship. When not preparing for exams and finishing assignments to earn her degree in computer science, she spends her time as NJIT’s jazz vibraphonist and a percussionist. She is a weekly volunteer with SoulDeevas’s Junior Girl Drumline, teaching young girls how to play the drums, and frequently volunteers at her church’s food pantry.
After graduating in 2024, she hopes to find a career that utilizes creativity and coding and continue to participate and lead music-related youth community activities. Hope has big dreams for the future and is grateful for the support and belief the Abacus team has for her.
“I am honored and grateful to be the recipient of this scholarship. The support of the Abacus team will help me graduate by 2024 and find a career that utilizes my passion for community and coding. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity the Abacus team has given me. It is extraordinarily enlightening to know that the Abacus team knows the potential impact music has on the community, and I am motivated now more than ever to prove the power music has to build long-lasting unity, even if it is across a screen” – Hope De Jesus.
You can watch her Submission below along with her Interview with Abacus Life.