North Texan receives scholarship from former President Obama

Kayla Abramowitz started a nonprofit when she was 11 years old. Now 20, she hopes to create a TV show to raise awareness and understanding of people with disabilities.

DALLAS — Kayla Abramowitz applied on a whim.

She didn’t think she had done enough to be considered for one of the 100 scholarships former President Barack Obama was offering to young people he believed would change the world.

She didn’t think she would get a second look.

Even though she started a nonprofit when she was 11.

Even though this non-profit organization has now donated more than 40,000 educational and entertaining toys to 450 children’s hospitals and medical facilities in 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, Quebec and South Africa.

Even though she did it all herself while battling painful illnesses.

This week, Abramowitz, now a 20-year-old advertising student and member of the Longhorn band at the University of Texas at Austin, admitted she was glad she applied.

She is one of 100 students from across the country chosen to receive a Voyager scholarship Obama and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky.

The Voyager Scholarship provides $25,000 in scholarships for a student’s junior and senior year. It also includes a $10,000 travel stipend and free Airbnb housing anywhere in the world for the summer before the recipient’s senior year. A travel allowance of $2,000 over 10 years follows this.

Abramowitz battled juvenile arthritis, Crohn’s disease and rare eosinophilic diseases.

She told the WFAA that the journey was painful and she sometimes has to be in a wheelchair.

This is why she launched her association, Kayla takes care of 4 children.

“I want to provide what I call positive distractions for other kids and lessen the fear and pain of a hospital stay,” she said.

She has big plans that she hopes to materialize through her Voyager scholarship opportunity.

“I want to create a television show like Sesame Street that is aimed at young children to raise awareness and understanding of children with disabilities,” she said. “We’re all kind of the same and I think the media portrayal is the biggest part of understanding that at a young age.”

The Abramowitz family recently moved from Florida to Little Elm.

Her mother, Andrea, said the scholarship was life-changing for their family, but also for the North Texas community.

“Kayla has such big goals and she always achieves them,” she said.

They have already spent time at the local Ronald McDonald House.

Kayla was on a Zoom call with the former president on Tuesday, which she called “touching.”

“He was basically telling us that what we were doing was good for the world and that we serve the public sector. Her specific quote for parents and kids was, you did well, and I really liked that,” she said.

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