More Than a Test Score

This years March Madnezz competition was the fiercest yet. We were extremely impressed with the amount of talent and determination. We commend each and every participant for an incredible job well done! But when all is said and done there can only be one winner. This year’s winner of the Sweet Diggity Dawg Zinch Scholarship and recepient of $20,000 is Kiley Gunter! Congratulations Kiley! We applaud your diligence, hard work, and talent. We would like to highlight Farrah Bui trailing Kiley by only 2%! Great job Farrah!

Here is our winners bio:
Hi I’m Kiley! I’m pursuing a career in nursing. Having dealt with chronic migraines the past two years, I know what it feels like when doctors stare at you like you’re wasting their time. Health care should not be like that. I want to do all I can to ensure that future patients don’t feel the misunderstanding and loneliness that I felt in my doctors’ offices. I look forward to treating real human beings with their own hopes and dreams, not just numbers on the way to a paycheck. But until then, I’m focusing on enjoying senior year and preparing for nursing school at UCLA in the fall. (:

Here are a few questions Kiley has answered and highlighted on her profile:

Why do you deserve this scholarship?
I work hard. I play hard. And I like to laugh. But really, I know a lot of Zinch users that work hard judging off their profile. So while I do know I deserve this scholarship, I know a lot of people on Zinch also deserve this scholarship. I’m going to give it my best shot, and we’ll see what happens! And a fun fact, I gave up Facebook for Lent, and Facebook was the main way I communicated in the first round. I made this decision before I received the semi-finalist email, and once I realized how I was limiting myself in the competition I was REALLY tempted to give up something else. But I didn’t! I stuck to the commitment I had made to God and myself, further proof that I don’t go back on my word when things seem less than ideal. (:
If you could have dinner with 3 people (dead or alive), who would it be and why?
Mary the mother of Jesus, because she’s so incredibly interesting. Talk about a strong individual. When Jewish society turned her away because it appeared that she had sinned, she kept going knowing in her heart what was right. That’s just awesome. William Jennings Bryan, because my APUSH teacher last year always called him his favorite loser. Seriously, that guy ran for elections so many times! I think it would be great to hear his perspective on what was perceived as failure and how he dealt with it. And a stranger, because I love getting to know people. That would be an incredible dinner party.
If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
It would for sure be the ability to start and stop time. That way, I would be able to get everything done that I need to during the day, and still sleep as much as I want! It would be the most amazing thing ever.
If you had a million dollars and you had to spend it on yourself, what would you do?
College tuition! Yeah yeah yeah! And probably a few shopping excursions thrown in there too. (:
If you could change one thing in history, what would it be and why?
Oh that’s a toughie. You know, I don’t think I would change anything. Although the first thing that popped into my head was the Crusades. While there have certainly been a lot of unfortunate occurrences in this world, I know if I were to change something, there would be a bunch of unforeseen consequences. At least that’s what all the movies about time travel seem to conclude.

And here is video Kiley made for this years competition:

Again Congratulations Kiley!

And thanks to everyone that participated in this years March Madnezz!

As we get closer to the end of the Sweet 16 round and the beginning of the Elite 8 we wanted to go over some of the fierce competition.

Take the match up of Ravyen Wray and Innsu Kim.  This match up has turned into a musical faceoff! With both contestants posting videos of their musical talent these two are running a close race.  Ravyen Wray displays her singing and song writing talent while Innsu Kim displays his piano composing and playing skills. Check out their videos below and go vote for who you thinks deserves $20,000!

PS If you play the two videos at the same time it sounds pretty cool!

Jessica Cronnin is an aspiring graphic designer that has done an amazing job here in this years March Madnezz competition.  She has pushed through to the Final 64 and was able to get published in two newspaper articles! With amazing talent and such determination we know that even though this scholarship wasn’t in the cards for her, she will be able to accomplish so much!  We wish you luck Jessica! We hope to see you participating in other Zinch scholarships! Keep up the great work.

-Zinch Team

More Zinchers are getting out there and showcasing themselves! We would like to highlight two students that took the initiative to tell us about themselves!

Lindsey Bell is a member of the Final 64 competing in the feirce competition.  She shared with some of her hopes and dreams she wants to accomplish with the help of the Sweet Diggity Dawg Scholarship.

My dreams of becoming a child welfare social worker don’t correspond with a life changing moment. They don’t mimic a beloved family member or hero’s experiences. I can’t offer a background filled with chronic illnesses that consumed my childhood, abuse from a family member, or the many winter nights I walked the streets, homeless. Instead I hope to change a child’s life whose future could resemble any of the aforementioned. After attending Lipscomb University, by founding a rehabilitation center for abused foster children, I plan to provide kids with a secure, nurturing environment to grow, laugh, learn, and live without fear, and surround them within a safe haven of social workers, fellow friends, and educators. I believe that my dreams, when executed, have the potential to change the world, or at least benefit one child’s life.

Micheal Erickson, an advocate for International Relief Teams, has pledged to donate $0.05 per vote! That sure doesn’t seem like much until the votes really start adding up. So get out there and vote! Here is a video that highlights a little more about International Relief Teams.

We are proud to announce the following are this years Cinderella 6:

Nicholas Teleky had the Largest Facebook Fan page with 13,122 members at the deadline! Congratulations Nicholas! Check him out in the North Bracket.

Queen Alike had the Most invites with 269 invites! Way to go! Check her out in the South Bracket.

Williams Jung made an amazing Cinderella 6 video! And as Jeff Zhao can attest, we here at Zinch love raps! Check him out in the East Bracket.

The hand picks:

Rani Morales came in a close second with a Facebook Fan page with 12,338 members at the deadline! With such a close margin we had to pick her! Congrats Rani! Check her out in the East Bracket.

Jessica Cronin was hand picked to be in the Cinderella 6 because of her great job at making headline news! Keep up the advertising Jessica! Check her out in the West Bracket.

Kathryn Buncik made an awesome stop motion video that we just couldn’t ignore! Great job Kathryn! Check her out in the East Bracket.

Thanks to everyone that participated in the Cinderella 6 competition! There were so many amazing videos, fan pages and high inviters it was some tough picking. Good luck to you 6!