May 25, 2009
National MS Society honors Shenandoah, IA Graduate with Scholarship
National MS Society Honors Shenandoah Graduate with Scholarship
Clive, Iowa – The North Central States Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is proud to announce that Taylor Goetz, Shenandoah High School graduate from Shenandoah, Iowa has been awarded a national scholarship for her first year of college at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Taylor’s application was selected from 1,030 applications in the nation and was awarded a one-time $2,000 scholarship from the home office of the National MS Society in Denver, Colorado. The National MS Society offers scholarships each year to high school seniors who either live with multiple sclerosis or have a parent who has been diagnosed.
Taylor’s father, Robert, was diagnosed with MS in 1995 and Taylor says, “Multiple Sclerosis has given me a new light to see the world through. I no longer want only the best things in life to happen- such as no more MS, but am so grateful for every step my dad takes to becoming better. I have also learned to treasure more things about life. Most little girls can not wait for the day their dad walks them down the aisle, but I can not wait for the day my dad drives me down the aisle. It will be perfect.”
Taylor will begin classes at Georgia State University this fall to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Respiratory Therapy. During her years at Shenandoah High School, Taylor participated in many activities including the 4H Club for nine years; dance for four years; volleyball for two years; served on student council for one year; was involved in tennis for three years; and was a part of the National Honor Society for two years. After graduation Taylor aspires to work in a hospital that has a Cystic Fibrosis Department and work for the memory of her sister who died of Cystic Fibrosis.
About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. 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 more than twice as many women as men contracting the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide.
About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. We do this through our home office and 50-state network of chapters by funding more MS research, providing more services to people with MS, offering more professional education and furthering more advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. We are people who want to do something about MS, now. Join the movement at nationalMSsociety.org. Studies show that early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can reduce future disease activity and improve quality of life for people with Multiple Sclerosis. Talk to your health care professional and contact the National MS Society at www.nationalMSsociety.org or 1-800-344-4867 to learn about ways to help people with multiple sclerosis and about current research that one day reveal a cure.