CSX scholarship sends Chuckey twins to college, Macy's parade

Twin siblings from Chuckey, Vaughn and Violet De La Cruz, received national scholarships honoring first responder families, easing college costs while spotlighting their father's service and their own plans to serve others. CONTRIBUTED From a small Tennessee town to Thanksgiving Day in New York, twin siblings found college help and a moment of national celebration through a first responder scholarship. Violet and Vaughn De La Cruz were already thinking about college applications and careers built around service when an unexpected email changed everything. The twin siblings from Chuckey were selected as two of 10 recipients nationwide for the CSX Pride in Service Scholarship, a $5,000 award presented in partnership with the First Responders Children's Foundation. More than 1,015 students applied. The scholarships are awarded based on financial need, academic achievement and extracurricular leadership. "It's an honor to be able to be selected for this and it really blessed our family," Vaughn De La Cruz said. "It felt like an immediate fit for our family just reading what the scholarship stands for and what they did for other families of first responders." Vaughn said the news came as a shock for both of them. "It was a huge shock, but, at the same time, a huge blessing," he said. "I got the email first, and I was blown away. Then, I went upstairs and saw that she got it too." "We couldn't wrap our heads around it," Violet De La Cruz added. "We still can't wrap our heads around it. It will help us to go to university and accomplish our hopes and dreams." Their father, Victor De La Cruz, is a Greenville Police Department officer who was injured while serving the community. Families like theirs are at the center of the partnership between CSX and the First Responders Children's Foundation, which since 2018 has awarded more than $750,000 in scholarships to students whose parents are first responders, including many injured or disabled in the line of duty or killed while serving. The scholarship is part of CSX Pride in Service, the company's community investment initiative supporting first responders, veterans and military families. Nearly one in five CSX railroaders have served in the military, according to the company. For Violet, the scholarship eases the financial pressure of pursuing a medical career. She plans to apply to a physician assistant program and is already taking prerequisite courses. "I would love to follow in my mom's footsteps to become a physician assistant," she said. "It's allowed me to start with the first steps to becoming a PA and get all the classes ready. I'll get hours working as an EMT this summer, shadow my friend's dad as a PA and then just work really hard in school to keep the grades and learn all the things I need to be able to apply." Vaughn plans to study engineering, a path he said fits his lifelong interest in math and working with his hands. He said he was drawn to engineering through classes and summer camps at Milligan University that focused on solving real world problems such as water filtration and disaster response. "Ever since I was a little, I've always enjoyed taking things apart, figuring out how things work, or trying to make things work better," he said. "I love math and I always have since I was little. My mom said, 'Well, if you put working with your hands together and loving math, you get engineering.'" One project, involving off grid water filtration, solidified his interest. Another experience building a military grade radio with a mentor from church pushed him further toward mechanical engineering. "That just kind of made me realize this is what I want to do," he said. Beyond the scholarship, CSX and the First Responders Children's Foundation invited the De La Cruz family to New York City on Nov. 27 to attend the 99th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "I was so impressed with New York City," Violet said. "I was blown away by how pretty it was — all the city lights and how it looks at night." She said they got to do a lot of sight seeing, including Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and more. She noted that seeing the massive parade balloons in person was unforgettable, as was attending the First Responders Children's Foundation breakfast. In addition to the scholarships, the twins received a fully paid trip to New York City to see the 99th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade CONTRIBUTED Vaughn said meeting the people behind the program made the experience deeply personal. "It was really neat to hear everyone who talked at the Children's Foundation Breakfast, and it was a blessing to be able to share with all those people how much the scholarshipment to us and to share a little about our family," he said. "We got to tell them our story, and let them see into our lives what a beautiful, amazing thing this was." Both twins said their father's career and service has shaped their own values and goals. "Having dad be a first responder and be a police officer — that's his life," Violet said. "His life of service has impacted the way we do our own lives all the time." She recalled helping their community after Hurricane Helene, when their father involved them in local relief efforts. "That's our way of life — helping others," she said. "I don't take that lightly or for granted." "The older you get, you start to realize the more that your parents do," Vaughn De La Cruz added. "You start to realize what it truly means to be a first responder or a police officer – the things that my dad sees every day and the things that he does. As they prepare for college, the twins say the scholarship represents more than financial support. "When somebody goes to show you that they appreciate you so much that they take care of your kids as well, it doesn't just mean something small," Vaughn said. "It's your whole world." Violet De La Cruz said they got to do a lot of sight seeing, including Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and more. CONTRIBUTED