Johnson Attorneys Group Names Recipient of its Fall 2019 $1,000 Scholarship
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (Oct. 28, 2019) — Angeli Munoz, 19, a first semester student at Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia, was chosen as winner of the fall 2019 Johnson Attorneys Group Never Drink and Drive Scholarship national competition.
“We were touched by Angeli’s essay because she stood up to a drunk driver,” said Attorney James Johnson. “She shares our law firm’s ongoing mission to put an end to drunk driving and make our roads safer. We are all at risk when we share the road with these drivers.”
We received nearly 100 essays for our fall scholarship competition, but Angeli’s essay stood out. She took action to protect her son and others by leaving her child’s father who was putting both of their lives at risk by repeatedly driving drunk.
“Drunk driving ruined my family. The day that my sons father took my car and drove drunk was the day I took my son and left him,” Munoz wrote in her essay. “Drunk driving was not just a danger to him. I questioned over and over again in my head, ‘How could he put other people’s lives in danger, but most importantly how cold he put himself in the position where he could be killed, or kill someone and leave our son without a father?’ For the sake of my son’s health and happiness as well as my own I left him.”
Read the winning essay by Angeli Munoz here
Munoz’s son is now 2.5 years old and his mom says he loves playing with his dinosaurs. Angeli Munoz grew up in the Long Island, New York area, and is the second-oldest of four sisters. The single mom was working as a personal trainer after high school when a client inspired her to go to college and pursue higher education. She’s currently working towards getting her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies with her goal to get a Ph.D in astrogeology.
“It was a significant time in my life,” said Munoz, who felt compelled to help others in her situation by sharing her story. “A year later my life is so much better. I’m in college and my son is doing well.”
The winning essay was selected as the winner by our friends at the Southern California office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Munoz was one of thirteen finalists who whose essays reviewed by MADD.
“I am still amazed at the number of applicants you received for the Never Drink and Drive contest!” said Patricia Rillera, California State Executive Director MADD California. “It is really refreshing to see how young people articulate not drinking and driving. While they were all good, we selected Angeli Munoz as the winner.”
Never Drink and Drive Scholarship Competition
Johnson Attorneys Group asked high school seniors and college students to write us an essay about how drunk driving has impacted their lives or what they would do to fix the epidemic that is taking lives and impacting families across the United States.
The response to our scholarship competition was eye-opening. We certainly expected heartfelt essays about losing a loved one or from those who were injured in a collision, but we were surprised at how many young people wrote about the trauma they experience from their own relatives who have driven drunk. Some of our entrants spoke about their own mistakes and how they learned from them and try to help others.
Indeed, we received dozens of heart-wrenching essays from college students and high school seniors from across the country who were asked to write an essay about how drunk driving has affected them or someone they know, why we should care it and how they would bring awareness to their community.
Please consider entering our 2020 Never Drink and Drive Scholarship competition. Submissions should be made by March 11th. for the spring and September 30th for the fall competition.
— Johnson Attorneys Group has been a proud sponsor of MADD since 2013
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