Knowledge for Freedom

The NSU Knowledge for Freedom program launched in the summer of 2023 with our first cohort of students. We hosted our second cohort in 2024, and our third and final cohort in 2025. During each summer, 15 high school juniors became college students for three weeks as they attended college-level seminars, resided on campus, and developed projects to create change in their community on an issue important to them. During their senior year of high school, the program supported students with their college and financial aid applications and their Change Projects.

Experience the program through our E-Zine, where students document their biographies, experiences, and Change Projects.

Explore Our E-Zine

Abraham Zabner, Class of 2024

My name is Abraham Zabner (but my friends call me Benny), and I am a junior studying Finance and Economics at Nova Southeastern University.  I love playing piano, something that has stayed with me since my time as a KFF Change Scholar, and I’ve recently taken up cooking, meal-prepping every Sunday for the week ahead. Growing up, I experienced constant change, going from an ultra-religious community to a secular one, living in nine homes, and attending eight schools. I used to resent it, seeing the flux as a hindrance. As I have gotten older though, I have come to see how adaptation to these changes can be an incredibly beneficial skill. It has given me the confidence to face challenges and the resilience to overcome them. The Change Scholars program reinforced this perspective, underscoring how positive change can shape who we are for the better. Since that summer of 2023, I’ve stayed busy working multiple jobs, building community on campus, and learned a lot about myself. The most significant takeaway from the Change Scholars program for me has been the importance of critical thinking. The lecture styles of Drs. Bass, Toscano, and Farrar were transformative for my high-school-programmed brain and they repeatedly emphasized asking questions to uncover the truth. Despite those lessons I have learned, the relationships made, with both faculty and peers, are priceless and remain the most meaningful part of being a Change Scholar.

Lynn-Sarah Prophete, Class of 2025

Hello! My full name is Lynn-Sarah Berenice Prophete. I was born in Cap-Haitian, Haiti, and moved to America when I was seven. Ironically, I used to hate writing in English, and now I cannot imagine my life without it. This program helped further my understanding of writing, but most importantly, philosophy. I am the Change Scholar who furthered their research and helped at the homeless shelter by incorporating my culinary skills and influence to aid the individuals at The Caring Place.

Since graduating from the Change Scholars program in 2025, I've been a student at Broward College.  I am on my journey to obtain a nuclear medicine technology certification and a license. This decision required careful calculation, since I needed to allocate my time, energy, and money in the most effective way possible. My main objective was to have my finances covered throughout college. I am doing so on a full-ride scholarship, so that's a bonus! Based on our lectures, “The Sun My Heart” by Thich Nhat Hanh reminded me that in all truth, we are connected. The teaching offered throughout the reading is brilliantly woven to encourage individuals to change their thinking, speaking, and ways of acting—especially its spiritual take on what it means to be human on Earth. The passage is a reminder to me to “take one thing and do it very deeply and carefully,” and by doing so, you'll be “doing everything at the same time.” It is teaching society to be intentionally present. During these disconcerting moments in growing up, this lesson gives me a source of comfort. Overall, this program was a phenomenal experience not only for me but also for the other scholars. I had a splendid time, and I think fondly of all the fabulous people I've met and shared laughs with. 

Kevin A. Romero, Class of 2024

Hi, my name is Kevin Antonio Romero, and I was a part of the inaugural cohort of the KFF Change Scholars program.

So much has happened in the past few years, but I will try to keep it short and sweet. I am a first-generation Salvadoran American, born and raised in Hollywood, Florida. After graduating from the Change Scholars program, unlike many of my fellow graduates, I was not completely sure what institution I wanted to attend, and I honestly did not know what I wanted to major in either. After a lot of reflection and self-realization, and not too far from where NSU is located, I decided to begin my post-secondary journey at Broward College. The rest is history.

Choosing to attend a community college was one of the best decisions I could have ever made. It truly opened doors I once thought were out of reach. I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. on scholarship to learn more about governance and legislation through The Washington Center. I also stepped outside of my comfort zone by returning to music and performing in three concerts with the Broward College Choral Society. I served as a student representative for the Broward College AmeriCorps Peer Mentoring Program at a Board of Trustees meeting, and I was selected as a Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholar, one of only ninety students in the nation.

While I am deeply proud of these accomplishments, the moment that means the most to me was walking across the graduation stage as the first person in my family to earn a college degree in the United States. That moment represented not only my own hard work, but also the sacrifices my parents and family made so that I could be where I am today.

In Spring 2026, I began my transfer journey as a Mammoth at Amherst College, one of the top liberal arts institutions in the nation, on a full-ride scholarship, located in the heart of Amherst, Massachusetts. Although I have only just started this chapter, I hope to carry with me all of the lessons and experiences that have shaped who I am.

If I had to highlight one lesson from the Change Scholars program, it would be this. From our very first reading, Plato’s Republic and the Allegory of the Cave, I learned not to get comfortable and stay in the cave. The world needs people who are willing to challenge what is normal, push beyond what is known, and create change. Just as importantly, we must never forget those who are still in the cave.

The beauty of a liberal arts education is that we do not have to know everything. What matters is being curious, being open, and being willing to learn. This program was the catalyst I needed to believe in myself and begin a new journey.

I expect to graduate in Winter 2028. My journey is just beginning, and so is yours.