AbbVie Kicks Off Two-Week Public Voting Open for the 2021 AbbVie CF Scholarship Thriving Student Awards

- Voting is open to the public now through September 1 to help determine this year's two Thriving Scholars
- Forty students living with cystic fibrosis who have demonstrated academic excellence, creativity, and community involvement/extracurricular activities are in the running
- Scholarships totaling $25,000 each - the Thriving Undergraduate Scholarship and the Thriving Graduate Scholarship - will be awarded to two deserving students AbbVie today announced the start of its two-week public voting period for the 2021 Thriving Undergraduate and Thriving Graduate Scholarship. At the conclusion of this voting period, two commendable students living with cystic fibrosis (CF), an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system, will be awarded scholarships totaling $25,000 each for use towards higher education.  

The public has until September 1 at 11:00 AM EST to visit the official AbbVie CF Scholarship website (www.AbbVieCFScholarship.com) to view the achievements of this year's forty scholars and vote for their top picks to help determine the 2021 Thriving Undergraduate and Thriving Graduate Scholarship recipients. Votes can be cast online or via text message by texting the student's personalized ID code to "25545" during the two-week public voting period. 

"I'm so thankful for my friends, family, peers and supporters who voted for me last year," said Brayden Merrill, 2020 AbbVie CF Scholarship Thriving Undergraduate Student. "When living with a chronic illness like cystic fibrosis, it's important to have a community rallying behind you and cheering you on along your journey. Being awarded $25,000 through the AbbVie CF Scholarship has definitely been a highlight of my young adult life, and I'm sure this year's winners will feel the same."

Earlier this summer, AbbVie selected forty undergraduate and graduate students living with CF to each receive a $3,000 AbbVie CF Scholarship for use during the 2021-2022 academic year based on their academic excellence, creativity, and community involvement/extracurricular activities. These inspiring scholars now have the chance to earn additional scholarship funding in the amount of $22,000 if selected as the 2021 Thriving Undergraduate or Graduate Student. Both winners will be determined based on a combination of their academic achievements, community involvement/extracurricular activities, essay, and creative presentation scores, as well as the number of public votes received.

AbbVie encourages voters to show their support for the forty scholars by tweeting the link below. The 2021 Thriving Undergraduate and Graduate Students will be announced in late September. 

Click to Tweet: Student scholars living with #CysticFibrosis need your help! Cast a vote to help determine the 2 scholars who will receive $25K in scholarship funds as the 2021 AbbVie CF Scholarship Thriving Undergraduate and Graduate Students https://bit.ly/30fP7QQ

"The AbbVie CF Scholarship recipients are talented, motivated and inspiring in how they refuse to let their CF stand in the way of achieving their academic and personal goals," said John Duffey, vice president, U.S. Specialty, AbbVie. "Their resilience is nothing short of incredible, and AbbVie recognizes this year after year through the scholarship program as we continue to demonstrate our commitment to students with CF pursuing higher education and achieving their dreams."

About Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of those living with this condition.¹ In patients with CF, a thick, sticky mucus is produced in certain organs throughout the body, most commonly the lungs and digestive system. The mucus build-up in the lungs can cause difficulty breathing and may lead to life-threatening lung infections. In the digestive system, the thick mucus may prevent proper food digestion, potentially leading to malabsorption and malnutrition.

About the AbbVie CF Scholarship
The AbbVie CF Scholarship was established 29 years ago in recognition of the financial burdens many families touched by CF face and to acknowledge the achievements of students with CF. Since its inception, the scholarship program has awarded over $3.5 million in scholarships to over 1,000 students. The AbbVie CF Scholarship is part of AbbVie's ongoing commitment to the CF community, which is comprised of more than 30,000 people in the United States. As of 2016, more than half of the CF population are 18 years or older.¹

It is not necessary for scholarship applicants to have taken, currently take, or intend to take in the future, any medicine or product marketed by AbbVie, and this is not a consideration in the selection criteria. More information about the AbbVie CF Scholarship criteria and application can be found at www.AbbVieCFScholarship.com.

About AbbVie
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology, women's health and gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across its Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

References

1. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. About Cystic Fibrosis. Diagnosis and Genetics. Available at: https://www.cff.org/What-is-CF/About-Cystic-Fibrosis/. Accessed August 2021.

SOURCE AbbVie