The Amputee Coalition recently announced Christa Berry, of Livermore, Calif., as the 2016 recipient of the Christina Skoski, MD, Scholarship. Berry is 18 years old and will attend Mount Holyoke College to major in biology.
Christa Berry
The Christina Skoski, MD, Scholarship is a $1,000 scholarship for a full-time undergraduate student with congenital limb difference or amputation.
“We are so pleased to announce Christa as our Skoski Scholarship recipient,” Susan Stout, president and chief executive officer of the Amputee Coalition, said in a press release. “Her dedication to people with limb loss and her vision and aspirations for her future as a prosthetist embody what the scholarship is all about. Her academic, musical and technical accomplishments are an inspiration to all with limb loss. While we received many excellent applications, Christa’s stood out with her outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements, and with her clearly defined career goals.”
Berry graduated from Granada High School in June. She plans to attend graduate school after finishing her undergraduate education. Her goal is to become a prosthetist.
“I was honored and thrilled when I heard that I was the recipient of the Christina Skoski, MD, Scholarship,” Berry said in the release. “It will help pay for my education at Mount Holyoke. I look forward to a career as a prosthetist, where I can work with people who have limb loss. I particularly enjoy helping others to find ways to fulfill their potential.”
Berry has sung in the local children’s choir, Cantabella’s Children’s Chorus, since the second grade. She competed in the Golden Gate International Choral Festival as part of the choir in 2015. She plans to join a choir at Mount Holyoke.
She was a member of her high school’s robotics club during her junior and senior years, and competed in VEX robotics tournaments. She also has participated in horseback riding for many years and looks forward to trying out for the collegiate varsity hunter and jumper equestrian team.
The Skoski Scholarship was established by Christina Skoski, MD, an Amputee Coalition supporter who has a hemipelvectomy amputation due to cancer. The scholarship is awarded each year to a high school senior or college freshman with limb loss or limb difference who demonstrates excellence in scholarship pursuits.
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