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By Candace MadsenSANDY -- A student at Salt Lake Community College has just been awarded the title of 2009 Thriving Student Achiever and a scholarship worth $17,000 through the SolvayCARES Scholarship.
Twenty-year-old Amanda Rudd has cystic fibrosis but says she has never let it stand of the way of her dreams.
"About 12 was when I started realizing I was different and that there was something that I had to do more than others," she says.
Despite daily treatments for CF that can take hours, Rudd lives a very active life.
"I played sports all throughout high school. I did volleyball, basketball, and I ran hurdles in track. Since high school I've picked up soccer," Rudd says.
She's also taking 16 credits at Salt Lake Community College while holding down three jobs, and she volunteers with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"I was just so grateful, and I still am so grateful, for all that they have done for me and that they do for everyone else. I wanted to do something to help them, and so I signed up to be an ambassador," Rudd says.
With her long list of accomplishments and service, Rudd has undoubtedly been a role model to many--including her little sister who also battles cystic fibrosis.
Rudd says she inherited her determined spirit from her parents.
"When they found out I had CF, they decided they were never going to let me use it as a roadblock or as an excuse to not do anything in my life," she says.
Rudd has always set high goals for herself, and winning the scholarship will help her reach yet another--attending school in Hawaii.
"In shortly less than a year, I set the goal I will be able to go out there and fulfill it," Rudd says.
As her list of goals just keeps growing, cystic fibrosis is going to have a hard time slowing her down.
"It's a part of me, but it runs along side me and with me. It doesn't stand in my way, and I don't let it hinder me from what I dream and what I want to do," she says.
Rudd is set to begin school at BYU Hawaii in January. She has plans to become a dental hygienist.
CLICK HERE to read Amanda Rudd's winning essay.
E-mail: cmadsen@ksl.com
