NORRISTOWN — Two Montgomery County teenagers and organ transplant recipients were awarded $2,000 in higher education scholarships, the Gift of Life Donor Program said.
The Jessica Beth Schwartz Memorial Scholarship gives money to transplant recipients seeking higher education, according to a Gift of Life Donor Program spokesperson. Stephanie Atenco-Torres, of Norristown, and Brian Bruder, of Collegeville, were among the 2024-25 program recipients.
Atenco-Torres showed acute renal failure as a newborn and was diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease in July 2007. Both of her kidneys were removed that year and she was put on dialysis.
Her father became a living donor so she could receive a transplant when she was 3 years old. Atenco-Torres is currently attending LIM College in New York to pursue fashion design.
“I make sure that no matter what is happening in my life, I will make it well known that I’m determined to grow as a person and an artist,” Atenco-Torres said in a statement. “No matter how difficult an obstacle is to overcome, it won’t stop me because I believe in myself and know that hard work pays off.”
Bruder was diagnosed with Dense Deposit Disease at 9 years old. The rare autoimmune disease required him to be on a strict regimen of medications and medical assistance at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His kidneys declined, which caused daunting side effects.
Bruder later had a kidney transplant. He received a new kidney through a paired exchange in which his mother became a living donor on the donor registry on his behalf. Another donor was a match with Bruder for the transplant, which took place in December 2023.
“I am eternally grateful to my mother for donating her kidney to the kidney registry so that I could get a spot higher on the recipient list,” Bruder said in a statement. “She essentially gave me life for the second time.”
Bruder and his family continue to support the cause of organ donation education and awareness through an organization they started called “Brian’s Buddies.” Bruder is attending Temple University in the fall.
“I thank God every day for all the gifts that I have been given. I intend to live my life to its fullest,” he said.
Eighty-three people have received scholarships since the program’s inception in 2003. Scholarship awardees must be under 25 years old, have previously received an organ transplant, according to a spokesperson. Eligibility criteria also stipulates they be a senior in high school or in a two-or-four-year college, university, trade or technical school. Visit donors1.org for more information about the Gift of Life Donor Program.
