Asheville student awarded with scholarship from National MS Society

From the press release:

The Greater Carolinas Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has announced one of 19 local scholarship program winners. Alexandra Nelson, a 2012 graduate and resident of Asheville will receive a $1000 scholarship to attend University of North Carolina-Charlotte, where she will study Biology with a concentration in Pre-Med.

The National MS Society Scholarship Program and the Golden Corral GC for MS Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to students who have multiple sclerosis (MS) or who have a parent living with MS while pursuing a college or technical school education. MS can take a terrible toll on the family, both emotionally and financially. Direct and indirect costs of MS, including lost wages, (even for those with insurance coverage) are estimated at more than $69,000 annually, with a total lifetime cost per family of $3 million. These challenges make funding a college education that much harder.

Alexandra Nelson, whose mother is living with MS, has received many awards throughout high school, including Honor Roll, St. Cecelia Award, Community Service Award, and first place in poetry at the Upstate 8 Literary Festival. Alexandra stayed active with her involvement in the orchestra, Drama Club, and various school service projects.

“My mother’s fight against MS has inspired me to work hard in school and create goals for myself. She’s inspired me to hold onto the things I am passionate about,” said Alexandra.

Alexandra is most looking forward to eventually joining Doctors Without Borders, a medical relief organization dedicated to providing medical care to troubled parts of the world.

“My determination to make a difference in the medical field is deeply rooted in the inspiration that my mother has given me. My mother is a truly remarkable person because she’s shown me how important it is to never let anything or anyone get in the way of achieving my dreams, she’s shown me the unbelievable importance of helping others who need it, and given me the strength and encouragement to make my own contribution to the world in my own way,” says the 18 year old.

To help remove the barriers for those students impacted by MS, Golden Corral launched an initiative in 2011 in partnership with the two NC-based chapters of the National MS Society. All Golden Corral restaurants in the state of North Carolina, in addition to some participating locations in South Carolina, raised over $51,000 during September 2011, funding Alexandra’s scholarship.

For more information about the scholarship or to make a donation, please visit www.gc4ms.org or call 1-800 FIGHT MS.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with the disease. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and over 2.1 million worldwide.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. The Greater Carolinas Chapter serves 13,500 individuals affected by MS in 82 counties in North Carolina and all of South Carolina. Headquartered in Raleigh with an additional office in Charlotte, we help each person address the challenges of living with MS through programs, services and research funding.

In 2010 alone, the Society devoted $159 million to programs and services that assisted more than one million people. To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested $37 million to support 325 new and ongoing research projects around the world.

We are dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. To learn more, contact the National MS Society atwww.nationalMSsociety.org/nct or 1-800-FIGHT MS (1-800-344-4867).