{"id":17766,"date":"2022-04-20T00:28:11","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T00:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=17766"},"modified":"2022-04-19T19:30:41","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T19:30:41","slug":"proud-to-be-a-dreamer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/20\/proud-to-be-a-dreamer\/","title":{"rendered":"PROUD TO BE A DREAMER"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actress Stephanie Andujar shares her story<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Mike McKenna <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cStephanie Andujar is a shining example of what it means when we give kids an opportunity to find their path to success.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Laura Rose-Lewis, the executive director of the I Have A Dream Foundation (IHDF) Idaho, said as she introduced Stephanie to a crowd at The Community Library in Ketchum recently.<\/p>\n

Stephanie first got involved with IHDF when she was a young girl growing up on the tough streets of New York City. Now 35, she is a successful actress, including playing major roles in the Academy Award-winning film, Precious, and popular TV shows like Blue Bloods, Law & Order <\/i>and Orange is the New Black<\/i>. Stephanie attributes her success to the two pillars of support she has had in her life: her mom, Carmen, and the I Have A Dream Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m standing here today thanks to I Have A Dream,\u201d Stephanie said, as she fought back emotions. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for them, this little Puerto Rican girl wouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

IHDF was officially founded in 1986, but was actually born several years earlier. When successful businessman Eugene Lang was asked to speak to sixth-graders at his old East Harlem elementary school, he planned on telling them that hard work was the key to success. But when he found out that only about 25% of them were likely to graduate from high school, he changed his speech. Instead, he promised to help pay the college tuition of any kids who would go on to graduate. Eugene made 61 new friends that day, and nearly all of them went on to graduate from high school.<\/p>\n

There are now over 200 IHDF programs across the world. The nonprofit foundation helps assure that all children, especially those from underserved backgrounds, have the opportunity to pursue higher education, fulfill their potential, and achieve their dreams. IHDF provides academic, social and emotional support from elementary school through college, along with post-secondary tuition assistance.<\/p>\n

Stephanie started with IHDF in third grade and stayed with the foundation all the way through Talent Unlimited High School and then Pace University, even when she had to take a break from her studies for acting roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t say \u2018No\u2019 to my dreams. They were always there for me,\u201d Stephanie said. \u201cWhat makes dreamers so strong is the foundation they grow up in. It\u2019s more like a family\u2014there\u2019s a sense of community. I feel so proud to be a dreamer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephanie still stays in touch with other dreamers\u2014\u201cwe\u2019re everywhere,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome folks think that minorities aren\u2019t capable of learning. But we\u2019re all human beings. We\u2019re just all different,\u201d she said. \u201cI Have a Dream doesn\u2019t make you feel like you have to prove anything. It reminds you that you are enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about the keys to overcoming challenges in life, Stephanie leaned back on her IHDF background.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no excuses for not doing what you want to in life. You\u2019ve just got to do it, that\u2019s how you get ahead in life,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have it in us to not give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

To find out more, go to IHDFIdaho.org.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Actress Stephanie Andujar shares her story By Mike McKenna \u201cStephanie Andujar is a shining example of what it means when we give kids an opportunity to find their path to success.\u201d That\u2019s what Laura Rose-Lewis, the executive director of the I Have A Dream Foundation (IHDF) Idaho, said as she introduced Stephanie to a crowd […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,38],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chamber-corner","8":"category-sponsored"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17766"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17768,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17766\/revisions\/17768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}