'Spelling It Out Dream Fund' Scholarship Honorees Get Boost to Pursue Their Ultimate Dreams

    LOS ANGELES, CA, January 26, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Two young dreamers, on either coast of America, will receive scholarship awards to pursue their greatest wishes. The S.I.O. Dream Fund, named for Julieanne O'Connor's "Spelling It Out" book series, honors Alex Benjamin Waldron of Wolcott, Conn., and Casey A. Walker of Ventura, Calif. for each submitting about 1,500 words worth of their dreams.

The dreams of close-proximity wingsuit flying, and competing as a U.S. Olympian, impressed the Dream Fund organizers.

"They made you want to be there when they accomplish the milestone," said O'Connor, whose second installment of the book series was released last year. "It's what the Dream Fund was designed for. We were ecstatic to read their stories."

Waldron, 20, is a Temple University student who wrote about his "overall" dream to master the art and sport of close-proximity wingsuit flying. He was named the top $500 scholarship award honoree.

His "Falling From the Sky" submission outlined his love for skydiving, and desire to take it to the next step. "In 10 years I see myself flying down the side of a mountain after jumping out of a plane, living life the way it's truly meant to be experienced, in pure bliss," he wrote.

"I'm using the money for the accelerated free fall course for skydiving, which is the initial skydiving course to teach you how to skydive," Waldron said. "When I won the scholarship I was so happy because I had enough to enroll for the course in the spring which I called last week and enrolled in."

Walker, 19, submitted an application titled "Vision: US Olympian" summarizes his dream of representing the United States competing against top international athletes in field hockey in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He was honored with a $250 scholarship.

"I'm actually going to use your funds this week to help pay for traveling expenses to San Diego where the Olympic Training Center is located," said the University of California, Davis student.

Submissions were received from locations nationwide for the new personal development scholarships. Scholarship requirements are simple, starting with "You must have a dream," and also requesting a synopsis of what an applicant wishes to do or accomplish, some details about how the dream will be pursued and brief statements about the person's vision and desires.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2016 S.I.O. Dream Fund scholarship program, and are due by September. Details soon will be posted to http://spellingitout.com/sio.

For more information visit http://spellingitout.com; or follow online at Facebook.com/Spellingitout, Twitter.com/SpellingIt or Pinterest.com/SpellingItOut.

Julieanne O'Connor is the author of the "Spelling It Out" book series, as well as host of the Transforming Relationships segment on Self Realization Radio. An entrepreneur, actor, spokesperson, business owner, wife, mother and philanthropist, she has been honored for speeches and performances, as well as for contributions in business, and she has been featured on countless radio shows. "Spelling It Out For Your Man: Insider Secrets to Sex, Love and Attraction" was released in November 2013 and has attracted significant attention from women, men and couples. "Spelling It Out For Your Career: Insider Secrets to Living Your Dreams & Passions" was released in February 2015 and has already inspired countless entrepreneurs and students.

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