Life: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Their foundation was developed between a rock and a hard place. They found out that the rock was not there to crush them and the
hard place would be their testimony to help others. Instead of giving up, they turned to the rock and it became a refuge place for storms, a resting place for growth, and a place where their Lord and Savior (The Rock) shows himself mighty and strong.
We give honor to our grandmother and educators for standing in the gap. - Amber, Ashely, and Angel
hard place would be their testimony to help others. Instead of giving up, they turned to the rock and it became a refuge place for storms, a resting place for growth, and a place where their Lord and Savior (The Rock) shows himself mighty and strong.
We give honor to our grandmother and educators for standing in the gap. - Amber, Ashely, and Angel
We are asking for support because federal student loans are not offered and our total savings is not enough to cover our education.
We have applied for scholarships and were successful in receiving a small non-renewable academic scholarship in the amount of $3,000.
We have applied for scholarships and were successful in receiving a small non-renewable academic scholarship in the amount of $3,000.
Our Story
Written by Ashley, Amber, and Angel Sanders
Imagine three very cute identical babies being born at the same time. Each baby is looking forward to making a start in the world after leaving the shelter of her mother’s womb. They did not know what impact they would leave on the world or the events that would occur in their lives. Our names are Ashley, Amber, and Angel Sanders. We are identical African-American triplets and survivors of a life of neglect.
On Friday, January 26, 1990, a few weeks earlier than expected, our lives as newborns began. From the first moment of recollection, we experienced physical and emotional abuse from our loved ones. By the age of 7, we were placed in foster care and had firsthand knowledge of the impact of addictive behaviors. We were placed in foster care on two occasions, and our last experience ended at
the age of 17. By the time, we graduated from high school we had been placed in more than 10 different homes including shelters. Our childhood and adolescent experiences at home caused us to focus all of our energy on our futures. We did not trust anyone because our trust was broken time and time again.
During that time, we struggled. Despite that, we loved going to school because it gave us time away from our pain. However, school became difficult when we began to be bullied. We all cut ourselves because we wanted a release from all of the pain. Although suicide was in the back of our minds, our relationship with God strengthens us and protected us from committing such an act. Instead with this strength we managed to study hard in school and stayed focused on having a brighter future for ourselves. The support we received from our teachers and other school staff members at the Indy Met and most of all God, helped us get to where we are today. Through Indy Met we were able to thrive through independent studies, student- teacher advisement, and internships. Moreover, we graduated with academic honors from Indianapolis Metropolitan High School. Through our outstanding academic achievements, we received a four year scholarship from Goodwill Industries Foundation and the Central Indiana Community Foundation. We received enough scholarships in college to cover all expenses for our undergraduate degree. Each of us graduated with our bachelors’ degrees, and we all maintained a grade point average above a 3.0. Thus, we have surpassed the stereotype of African-American women who have neither graduated from high school nor from college. Our next steps are to attend graduate school in the Far East and continue our learning through international studies.
The reason we chose to study and earn our masters’ degrees in a foreign country is because we want to continue developing our fluency in the foreign languages and cultures; we have studied Korean, primarily, but also Chinese, Japanese and Russian. Ashley majored in East Asian Languages and Cultures with a focus in Korean. Amber graduated with the same degree; however, she majored in Japanese. Angel also studied in Korea and earned double majors in International Studies and Slavic Languages and Literature with a focus in Russian. In undergrad, the three of us studied foreign languages, however since we were not immersed for a long time in an area with native speakers or in the regions of which the languages were spoken we could not become fluent. Together, we reasoned that being able to study in a target region and immerse ourselves in the culture and language would help us meet our objective. We all graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a GPA above a 3.0.
After earning our master's degrees, we will strengthen world relations through employment with a governmental agency. We will be connectors and help bridge borders around the world. We have experienced tremendous grief in our lives and have made peace our legacy. Yonsei University offers the best opportunity for us to achieve our goals.
We share our story, our hopes, dreams and goals with you and ask for your support. We are in need of scholarship assistance to help pay for tuition and room and board. We thank you for helping us succeed and giving us an opportunity to impact others positively.
Sincerely,
Ashley, Amber, and Angel
Thank you for helping the Triplets Go 2 Grad School and stay together.
On Friday, January 26, 1990, a few weeks earlier than expected, our lives as newborns began. From the first moment of recollection, we experienced physical and emotional abuse from our loved ones. By the age of 7, we were placed in foster care and had firsthand knowledge of the impact of addictive behaviors. We were placed in foster care on two occasions, and our last experience ended at
the age of 17. By the time, we graduated from high school we had been placed in more than 10 different homes including shelters. Our childhood and adolescent experiences at home caused us to focus all of our energy on our futures. We did not trust anyone because our trust was broken time and time again.
During that time, we struggled. Despite that, we loved going to school because it gave us time away from our pain. However, school became difficult when we began to be bullied. We all cut ourselves because we wanted a release from all of the pain. Although suicide was in the back of our minds, our relationship with God strengthens us and protected us from committing such an act. Instead with this strength we managed to study hard in school and stayed focused on having a brighter future for ourselves. The support we received from our teachers and other school staff members at the Indy Met and most of all God, helped us get to where we are today. Through Indy Met we were able to thrive through independent studies, student- teacher advisement, and internships. Moreover, we graduated with academic honors from Indianapolis Metropolitan High School. Through our outstanding academic achievements, we received a four year scholarship from Goodwill Industries Foundation and the Central Indiana Community Foundation. We received enough scholarships in college to cover all expenses for our undergraduate degree. Each of us graduated with our bachelors’ degrees, and we all maintained a grade point average above a 3.0. Thus, we have surpassed the stereotype of African-American women who have neither graduated from high school nor from college. Our next steps are to attend graduate school in the Far East and continue our learning through international studies.
The reason we chose to study and earn our masters’ degrees in a foreign country is because we want to continue developing our fluency in the foreign languages and cultures; we have studied Korean, primarily, but also Chinese, Japanese and Russian. Ashley majored in East Asian Languages and Cultures with a focus in Korean. Amber graduated with the same degree; however, she majored in Japanese. Angel also studied in Korea and earned double majors in International Studies and Slavic Languages and Literature with a focus in Russian. In undergrad, the three of us studied foreign languages, however since we were not immersed for a long time in an area with native speakers or in the regions of which the languages were spoken we could not become fluent. Together, we reasoned that being able to study in a target region and immerse ourselves in the culture and language would help us meet our objective. We all graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a GPA above a 3.0.
After earning our master's degrees, we will strengthen world relations through employment with a governmental agency. We will be connectors and help bridge borders around the world. We have experienced tremendous grief in our lives and have made peace our legacy. Yonsei University offers the best opportunity for us to achieve our goals.
We share our story, our hopes, dreams and goals with you and ask for your support. We are in need of scholarship assistance to help pay for tuition and room and board. We thank you for helping us succeed and giving us an opportunity to impact others positively.
Sincerely,
Ashley, Amber, and Angel
Thank you for helping the Triplets Go 2 Grad School and stay together.