stLouISTMother Nova, Plays Instrumental Role: Samara Helton, An EHS Senior, Is AMH Health Equity Scholarship Recipient
ALTON - Samara Helton, a senior at Edwardsville High School, is one of Alton Memorial Hospital's first two Health Equity Scholarships winners. Samara was raised by a single mother who has been a steady influence in her life. Taryn Wallace, an Alton High School senior, is the other to receive a scholarship and there is a separate feature on Riverbender.com about her. Samara’s mother, Nova, had Samara when she was 18 years old, and Samara said that her mom sacrificed a lot of her personal goals for her children. “She worked so hard to make sure we had everything we would need,” Samara said. “When her classmates were packing up to move to college, my mother was changing my diapers. I work very hard to make sure that she knows that my hard work is not only for me but for her as well to show how far her sacrifice has come. In a way, her having me so young has become my biggest drive to become the most successful person I can be to show her what she could have been.”
