In the aftermath of a scooter collision, Trinity lay in the street, terrified that her broken thumb might crush her dreams of becoming a doctor.
The injury required surgery, screws in her hand and months of physical therapy. But what Trinity, 21, remembers most is the way emergency room doctors comforted her through one of the most frightening moments of her life.
“It put life into perspective because when you do things for other people, you can only assume how it makes them feel. But having gone through an emergency room experience gave me so much motivation and an even stronger purpose than before,” Trinity said. “I want to make an impact on someone’s life.”
The experience reshaped Trinity’s medical ambitions. Once focused on becoming a pediatrician, she now plans to pursue a future in emergency room medicine, where she can work with both children and adults during some of the most critical moments of their lives.
Supporting Trinity’s ambitions is the Hope through Housing Foundation’s 2026 Building Bright Futures program, which awarded $45,000 in higher education scholarships to 33 students living at National CORE affordable housing communities.
Trinity, who is a junior at UC Riverside and lives at Corona Del Rey, is a two-time recipient of the scholarship. This year, she received one of two top prizes of $5,000.
Trinity said she often delays buying textbooks and materials and balks at participating in certain programs because of financial constraints. Now, the scholarship will help “level the playing field” with her wealthier pre-med student peers.
She already has plans for her scholarship funds.
Trinity wants to go to EMT school, not only because it sounds fun, but because it will also allow her to dip her toes into her medical pathway. The scholarship will also help pay for possible application fees since she’s considering a transfer to either UC Irvine or Brown University to benefit from either intuition’s influence and status.
“This scholarship means assurance and safety,” Trinity said. “Everyone is only capable of doing what they can due to their circumstances. But eliminating the financial barrier helps so much.”