RILEY CHAPPLE
2022-23 Scholarship Recipient
The U-M Club of Dallas is pleased to announce the selection of incoming Freshman student Riley Chapple as winner of the 2022-23 scholarship. Riley will receive $7,000 toward her educational expenses. She is interested in Physical Therapy as a future career and plans to study Exercise Science and Sports Medicine.
A well-rounded student, Riley was on the Varsity Water Polo team as Team Captain where they placed third in the State in 2021! She was also a National Junior Olympics Qualifier with the Thunder Water Polo Club.
Her volunteer work includes helping rescued dogs and lost/injured pets become rehabilitated and reunited with their owners. Riley also volunteered with Serve the City where she provided helpful services to local community members.
Riley will spend her summer preparing and training to play on the Michigan Women’s Water Polo team!
You can get to know Riley by reading her photo essay (below) and her Thank you note.
This family photo may look different than most, because, in the best way, my family is different than most! Incorporating two photos into one was the only correct way to express and describe my family fully. Coming from a fun and big blended family, I am lucky to have my mom, Dad, Stepmom, Stepdad, my brother, my sister, and my stepsister and two stepbrothers! Coming from a unique and large family has been a blessing. I have learned patience, love, and joy beyond any measure. Being in the middle of six kids as well, has put me in a special place where I can learn from and look up to the accomplishments of my older three siblings, as well as do my best to be a role model for my younger two. I can only aspire that the goals I fulfill at Michigan inspire my family to do the same!
This photo expresses one of my proudest moments to this day. This is a picture of my high school water polo team last May after placing third in the state of Texas. This photo represents everything a team means to me and more. Playing sports, and being a part of a team has taught me so much about myself and about how to work hard for what you want. I’ve learned that nothing is given, but always earned, through determination, effort, and a positive mindset. No goal is too small and nothing is impossible. I’ve also experienced that being a part of a team, school, or organization that feels like family is so important for success. Without people around you who also aspire for your greatness and you theirs, you won’t succeed. This draw towards a family is the reason I chose Michigan, and believe that I can thrive there.
Behind this photo is my inspiration for going into the sports medicine and physical therapy field. In this picture here, I’m in my fifth cast for a recurring elbow injury that has persisted on and off for over nine years and after three surgeries. As an athlete who has faced injury and the harsh recovery of it, it has become my goal to dedicate my career path to helping other athletes facing injury, therapy, and rehabilitation. All of my firsthand experience has encouraged me to dive deeper into the world of sports injuries and physical therapy. The athletic atmosphere and sophisticated academics of Michigan is the best place for me to be to make a difference in other peoples’ lives.
A second 2022-2023 scholarship, open to returning students as well as incoming freshmen, goes to Daphne Tsai
Our second 2022-23 scholarship is for $4,000 and goes to Daphne Tsai.
Daphne graduated from Plano Senior High School in 2020. She is currently a Junior at Michigan pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree in Computer Science. As she is interested in technology and vehicles, Daphne devotes her time to research, deep learning and neural networks as it relates to autonomous vehicle space.
Some alumni might be surprised to learn that more than 140 students from the DFW area are either beginning or continuing their undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan in the Fall of 2022. As our scholarships are awarded to DFW students with financial need, we hope to continue increasing these amounts and want to encourage those who are able to contribute to our scholarship fund to do so.
If you would like to see more students like Riley and Daphne receive scholarships, please consider making a donation to our endowment fund.