Words From Scholarship Recipients

Below are the heartfelt testimonials from BCL Foundation Scholarship Recipients we’ve received over the years.

Temi Fasusi
BCL Foundation helps architecture student build her dream

I was able to go off to college armed with a T-square in hand and the backing and encouragement of those who invested in me and my future.

This scholarship allowed me to graduate from a five-year program at Temple University with my Bachelor of Architecture Degree. I had the honor of growing up with Brandon, attending school with him and being around him as he bravely battled the same cancer that he eventually succumbed to. So, being given a scholarship in his honor was not something that I took lightly. This scholarship contributed to my tuition for architecture school, one of the more expensive majors. Architecture school requires the purchase of supplies beyond textbooks and notebooks. It also requires tools and art supplies, none of which are cheap. But thanks to this scholarship, I was able spend countless years in a great program learning about a profession that I love and would eventually practice. I am currently national design manager with CAVA, a chain of casual Mediterranean restaurants. I use the skills and education that I received at Temple to lead the design team in creating unique and vibrant restaurant spaces throughout the country. It’s honestly a dream job for me and I couldn’t have gotten to where I am today without starting out at Temple. I was able to go off to college armed with a T-square in hand and the backing and encouragement of those who invested in me and my future. I am so thankful to the Lee family for seeing that potential in me. In his short time on earth Brandon was a ball of energy and he shined bright on all who were around him. It’s beautiful that now, in his memory, others are given a chance to shine as brightly as he did.

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Tyler Jackson
Student expands health vision, thanks to the BCL Foundation

Wellness is simply defined as the state of being in good health but, in truth, it is much more complicated.

My name is Tyler Jackson and I graduated from the Washington University in St. Louis with a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT). I am currently working in the San Francisco Bay area as a staff physical therapist at Quinn Orthopedic Physical Therapy, a privately-owned outpatient orthopedic clinic. I see a variety of patients daily, treating everything from ankle sprains to whiplash injuries, always trying to encourage people to be their best selves. While I was still a student, I treated wellness as a series of rules to follow in order to live with the least amount of physical pain possible. It was body mechanics, statistics on activity levels, and testing muscle strength. My professors required exact knowledge and a high level of critical thinking to solve hypothetical patient problems, and I spent many hours studying from books, reading lectures, and volunteering as a track coach to learn all with which I was tasked. Throughout my time as a student, the Brandon Carrington Lee Foundation scholarship provided financial assistance for books and class supplies, greatly reducing the financial strain of being a graduate student. The scholarship reminded me I had support beyond my teachers and fellow classmates; and that someone else was praying for my success and dream of becoming physical therapist. Now that I’m working, I have come to learn a great deal more about patients, treatment, and wellness, and nothing is quite like how it appears in a book. My patients have lives, worries, and concerns beyond the physical pain they endure. I must address their whole person every time I see them. Often an encouraging word, a patient ear, or even just some deep breaths together can be all a patient needs to address the tension and weight they carry. The Lee family has always shown me kindness and I, in turn, try to share that with my patients.

Anthony Thornton
BCL Foundation Scholarship Recipient, 2016

“Your contribution made my journey through college one of the best
experiences of my life. Five years have now passed, and I have graduated with dual bachelor’s degrees in biology and medical laboratory science from George Mason University. I then trained at the
Augusta Health School of Medical Laboratory Science in Fishersville, Va., where I studied and analyzed blood and tissue samples essential to the treatment of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. In July, I started my career as a Medical Laboratory Scientist at Augusta.”