From Opportunity to Impact: Francesca
When Francesca Baptiste thinks about what a Tri-County Scholarship has meant in her life, one word comes to mind: opportunity.
Born in Haiti, Francesca was just one year old when her family immigrated to the United States in search of a better life. After her parents separated, her mother raised Francesca and her brother on her own in Irvington, New Jersey, often working multiple jobs to provide for her children.
Through the financial struggles, her mother instilled in Francesca a belief that would shape her future: education is something no one can ever take away from you.
When it came time for high school, Francesca dreamed of attending St. Vincent Academy in Newark. She wanted an education that would challenge her academically and spiritually, surround her with motivated students, and help prepare her for her goal of a career in medicine.
There was just one obstacle: her mom could not afford the tuition.
That’s where Tri-County Scholarship Fund came in.
“The scholarship wasn't just financial aid, it was hope,” Francesca says. “It meant my family didn't have to choose between paying bills and paying tuition. It meant I could stop worrying about how and start focusing on becoming.”
And Francesca made the most of that opportunity.
At St. Vincent Academy, she earned Honor Roll recognition and graduated in the top 10 percent of her class. She was selected as a New Jersey Governor’s STEM Scholar, where she designed an electrochemical biosensor to detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wastewater. She participated in the competitive M.I.N.D.S. Internship at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, conducted public health research, became a Certified Nursing Assistant, and volunteered hundreds of hours at University Hospital.
Each experience brought her closer to a future centered on science, patient care and service.
This fall, Francesca will attend Rutgers University–Camden, where she has received significant financial aid to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Her long-term goal is to combine patient care with research and bring that care to
underserved communities — perhaps even one day returning to help in Haiti, where her own story began.
But for Francesca, success is about more than what she achieves for herself.
“The most important success isn't measured in grades or awards,” she says. “It's measured in how you use what you've been given to lift someone else up.”
“To everyone at Tri-County: thank you. You didn't just help pay for my education. You gave me confidence, you opened doors I never thought possible, and you gave me a reason to work hard enough to one day open those same doors for someone else.”
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