Celebrate Cherie Scholarship
Application for Academic Year 2023-2024
Purpose: The Celebrate Cherie Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to deserving up and coming
graduate students pursuing careers in physical therapy. The fund was established to honor Cherie
Amor Yadao, a physical therapist and manager for Commonwealth Orthopaedics, now known as
OrthoVirginia. On August 29, 2009, Cherie’s life was cut short at the age of 35 after a valiant fight against
a rare cancer, extra pulmonary small cell carcinoma. To the end, Cherie lived life to the fullest andtouched so many lives in the process. The goal of the Celebrate Cherie Scholarship Fund is to help
physical therapy students pursue their dream of helping others as Cherie did .
This scholarship is administered by the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. For more
information visit the website at www.cfnova.org.
Scholarship Award: a one-time distribution of $5,000. The scholarship will be paid directly to thewinner’s accredited university graduate program in physical therapy.
Selection Criteria:
Applicants must be legal residents of Northern Virginia (defined as the areas of Alexandria, Arlington,Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties). The scholarship selection committee will consider thefollowing:• Academic excellence as demonstrated by undergraduate GPA• Demonstrated leadership in the field of physical therapy• Academic and professional references• Citizenship and community involvement• Essay/personal statement
Application Deadline: May 5, 2023
Application Instructions:
Complete the application, printing or typing the answers neatly in the space provided. Do not attach any
additional information. Be sure to sign the completed application. The scholarship winner will be notifiedof a decision by June 15, 2023.
Send the following with the application:
1. Two letters of recommendation; at least one from school personnel and one from a personfamiliar with the applicant’s community or school activities.
2. An official transcript from all colleges attended
Mail completed applications and materials to:
Jo-Anne C. Burton, PT, DPT
c/o OrthoVirginia (THERAPY)
8270 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive, 7th Floor, Fairfax VA 22031

All materials must be postmarked by May 5, 2023. Please do not attempt to hand deliver applications ormaterials. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Questions: Contact Jo-Anne Burton
at jo.burton@orthovirginia.com or Shannon Haynie at shannon.haynie@orthovirginia.com

Celebrate Cherie Scholarship

Name of applicant _______________________________COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Celebrate Cherie Scholarship
Application for Academic Year 2023-2024

I. Applicant Contact Information:
Name of Applicant ____________________________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________________________
City ________________________________________ State ________________ Zip ______________
Home phone _________________________________ Email _________________________________

II. Undergraduate Program You Have Graduated From:
Name ____________________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________________________
Dates attended _____________________________ Graduation date (mm/yyyy) ___________________
Current GPA ___________________

As of (mm/yyyy) ___________________________________

Other programs attended:
School _____________________________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________________________
School _____________________________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________________________

III. PT Graduate Program that you plan to attend:
Name of College or University ___________________________________________________________
If unknown at the time of the application, please list programs to which you have applied.
____________________________________________________________________________________

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Celebrate Cherie Scholarship

Name of applicant _______________________________

IV. Extra-curricular activities, athletic activities, volunteer or work experiences:
Please list the activities that have been most significant to you (list up to six).
Organization/Club/Position

Dates Involved(mm/yy –mm/yy)

How did you contribute/responsibilities

V. Honors/awards/achievements (list up to four):
Honor, Award orAchievement

YearDescribe

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Celebrate Cherie Scholarship

Name of applicant _______________________________

VI. Personal Statement: Explain how you became interested in the field of physical therapy

VII. Additional Information: What else would you like the scholarship committee to consider in evaluating
your application? Include and personal information that would help in interpreting your academic record orunderstanding you as an individual.
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Celebrate Cherie Scholarship

Name of applicant _______________________________

VIII. Applicant’s Certification of Understanding
I certify that I have prepared this application and that all information it contains is true and accurate. All
written essays are my own original work. I understand that if I am selected as the recipient of theCelebrate Cherie Scholarship that the Northern Virginia Community Foundation has my permission toannounce this news in a press release, in publications and on the NVCF web site.

____________________________________________________________________________________
Student SignatureDate____________________________________________________________________________________
Parent/Legal Guardian Signature (if under 18 years of age)

Date

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