(Pictured above is Linsey, and below is Mandi.)

Mandi Brooks moved from state to state as a young child, following her mother and an abusive boyfriend, falling behind in school and living under desperate conditions at times.

By the age of 16, she struggled to catch up in school and began to dream about a normal life and college. The loss of her home after a fire and the illness of a
step-father who had become a "huge" part of her life added to the challenges she faced.

Linsey Heidelberg went from pom pons and football games to pain therapy
and crutches following a cheerleading accident at age 15. Faced with
the prospect of learning to walk again and battling RSD/CRPS (Reflex
Sympathetic Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome ) - an incurable
nerve disorder - she learned that the real heroes in her life weren't
football players, cheerleaders, the drill team or the band.

Brooks and Heidelberg battled adverse conditions in their lives and
sought to grow and improve themselves, in spite of those challenges.
Their successes will be recognized when they receive the 2008 Erin
Tierney Kramp Encouragement Scholarship Award during a special program
on Tues., June 24, at a local Dallas restaurant. The event will be
hosted by the Erin Tierney Kramp Encouragement Foundation's board of
directors and the Dallas County Community College District Foundation.

The scholarships will help Brooks, a resident of Irving, and
Heidelberg, a resident of Mesquite, reach for their dreams with
financial support provided by the Erin Tierney Kramp Encouragement
Scholarship Award, which covers full tuition and books for up to four
semesters. Brooks is majoring in pre-medicine at North Lake College,
and Heidelberg is pursuing an associate's degree in Science at
Eastfield College.

The DCCCD Foundation and the Kramp Foundation also are renewing the
scholarship for last year's recipient, Dylan Lewis of Mesquite, who
attends Eastfield College and is majoring in business administration.

The courage and perseverance shown by both recipients in the face of
adversity are traits exhibited by the person for whom the award is
named. Erin Tierney Kramp, who fought breast cancer from 1994 to 1998,
created a videotaped legacy on "life lessons" for her young daughter
that would convey Erin's views and advice to Peyton as the young girl
grew up, following her mother's death. Erin touched many lives and
inspired countless strangers when she co-authored Living with the End in
Mind (with her husband and a family friend) and through appearances on
programs like 20/20 and the Oprah Winfrey Show. Her legacy lives on
through the Kramp Foundation, the DCCCD scholarship program and the
lives of all recipients.

"The Erin Tierney Kramp program awards scholarships to students based
on their courage and perseverance in the face of adversity," said
Michael Brown, president of the Erin Tierney Kramp Foundation. "We
see these qualities in Mandi and Linsey, who bravely survived their own
challenges and who plan to help others by going to college and preparing
for careers that will serve others. Their stories exemplify what our
past recipients have demonstrated repeatedly through Erin's legacy.
When individuals face adversity, the struggles that they endure will
either make them stronger or defeat them. Winning that battle requires
courage and perseverance. Mandi Brooks and Linsey Heidelberg have
proven they have both traits, and they truly deserve this honor. "

The daughter of a teenage mother, Brooks endured a nomadic life during
her early teen years, accompanied by an ex-convict who was her
mother's boyfriend; Mandi worked to help support the "family"
and trained race horses that they traveled with. Efforts at home
schooling fell behind, and mother and daughter literally escaped one
night and returned to their home town to start a new life. "I was
back in high school in my home town, but I was so lost and felt so out
of place," recalls Mandi. "Things had changed; it was so different,
and I had a hard time adjusting. But I had learned to be a fighter and
I was a determined person, so I decided to become more involved in
school."

Brooks joined Future Farmers of America, Future Christians of America,
the school choir and the National Honor Society. She became an "A"
student, played soccer and softball, ran track and became the school
mascot her sophomore year. Sadly, her step-father was diagnosed with
stomach cancer during her first year in college and currently is
battling brain cancer, and Mandi had to start her life again from
scratch after her family's house burned to the ground. Since then,
she has participated in a church youth group leadership program;
assisted as a camp instructor; and has been involved in a program
working as an aide for mentally disabled children.

Brooks remains determined to succeed, however, and to become a doctor -
perhaps specializing in anesthesiology (she hasn't decided just yet).
Life has taught Mandi not to give up. She says, "Things get tough,
and I've learned never to give up and never quit - use your trials and
tribulations for the good and not the bad. Always remember that you
have the choice to let it make you or break you."

In comparison, Heidelberg started her high school experience on a high
note as a level 7 gymnast and a three-time All-American Cheerleader.
She recalls, "2-4-6-8...Who do we appreciate? The football team,
cheerleaders, drill team and the band. Unaware of the life changes I
was about to endure, I would soon discover who the real heroes in my
life were." Those heroes would become doctors, physical therapists,
family members and friends who have supported Linsey from the time of
her debilitating cheerleading injury at age 15 - when she was diagnosed
with a incurable nerve disorder (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/Complex
Regional Pain Syndrome) after undergoing surgery to repair her her
fractured L4 vertebra. She struggled with pain, related seizures, a
left leg that no longer functioned, wheelchairs, tests, medical
procedures and treatments that did little to ease her pain.

By her 17th birthday, Linsey was able to return to school and walk with
the aid of weekly nerve treatments crutches. Today, she is an officer
for Phi Theta Kappa's chapter at Eastfield, and she volunteers as a
Sunday school church leader in the pre-school department. Her plans
include graduating from Eastfield College and transferring to Texas
Woman's University, where she will pursue a doctorate in physical
therapy. As a summer volunteer at the Baylor Tom Landry Center for two
years, she has assisted with physical therapy for patients and has
shared the difficulties they faced. Linsey currently works as a
licensed therapeutic massage therapist.

She says, "Who do I appreciate? The real heroes I became dependent
on for two years were not the friends who forgot about me after the
accident. My heroes are the doctors, the skilled therapists, my family
and friends and, last but not least, the patients who suffer from
painful diseases like RSD. I also consider myself among my heroes
because I never gave up. I trusted God where I could not trace him."