LinYL Memorial Scholarship Recipients 2023

Joshua Placido

High School: A-TECH

College: University of



Southern California

Major: Computational



Neuroscience

Moving across the country to start a new life at the beginning of my freshman year was a jarring yet breathtaking adjustment. Living in a city brimming in cultural diversity and acceptance stirred a conversation within myself—one of personal identity. I worked through four years of high school at Advanced Technologies Academy, where I gained valuable mentors and friends who have become my support system and helped me find who I am. As I venture through the next chapter of my life at the University of Southern California, I reflect on the importance of the good and bad times that have molded me into a better person. Through educational experiences and opportunities like the LinYL Memorial Scholarship, I hope to provide others with a similar experience of improvement, empowerment, and finding oneself, even when it gets uncomfortable.

Kristal Walker

High School: A-TECH

College: Vanderbilt



University

Major: Public Policy and



Economics

I’ve always been interested in helping others. Therefore the activities I’ve pursued so far have been characterized by my passion for service. Throughout highschool I served as a Youth Legislator for Senate District 4 where I was tasked with advocating for Nevada’s youth. My four years in A-TECH’s legal studies program have equipped me with the tools necessary to learn how to better my community. Now I’m continuing a new journey at Vanderbilt University where I’m studying public policy and economics with a minor in Spanish. I have great admiration for the LinYL Foundation’s commitment to education. The greatest gift one can receive is education due to education’s ability to inflict meaningful change.

Andrew Mathiason

High School: A-TECH

College: University of



Virginia

Major: Finance &



Philosophy

As a foster kid growing up in a low-income, first-generation household, I understood the importance of education to rewrite these odds. Education opens a window to rewrite centuries of the poverty-stricken ways my family and generations past have endured; thus, I have internalized it as my moral obligation. Being bestowed this scholarship will make this journey a lot easier, and I am honored to know that every one of the LinYL Foundation saw this potential and is willing to invest in my willingness to change not only my family’s lives but also the world. In High School, I founded my mental health awareness club advocating for the support everyone deserves and an investment club, teaching the vital skills needed for growing/compounding your wealth through various asset classes, primarily focusing on stock market investing. Moreover, I plan to study finance at the University of Virginia to start a hedge fund on Wall Street. In conjunction with this, I want to delve into philanthropy by starting a nonprofit with the money I accumulate. This nonprofit will advocate and fund mental health resources for people experiencing homelessness. I am also taking a double major in philosophy due to the profound impact virtue ethics, and contemporary philosophy has had on my way of thinking when tackling the uncontrollable ways of life. Through the resiliency I’ve had to exemplify throughout my life, I am so thankful to have found these newfound purposes along the way — much like Lin Yuejun Lang.

Crystal Villarin

High School: LVA

Nirel Gonzalez-

Montes

High School: Valley

College: College of Southern Nevada

Major: Graphic Design

Hello, my name is Nirel! I graduated from Valley High School with honors and am now attending the College of Southern Nevada as an art major and look forward to transfer to UNLV to pursue my Bachelors of science in Graphic Design.

Areli Salcedo Guerra

High School: Valley

College: Pima Medical Institute

Major: Medical Assistant

I have worked extremely hard to accomplish the goals in my education and I am continuing to strive and create a future for myself. I am determined to take my education further and I am thankful for the opportunities in front of me.