My name is Michael J. Gross and I founded this scholarship foundation in 2010 in order to help students who suffer from heart conditions. Our mission is to provide scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate students, who suffer from all different types of heart diseases and deformities. Having been born with an extremely rare heart condition, which has led me to have four major open heart surgeries, along with several other minor heart operations, I know how difficult it can be for students trying to make it through the rigorous journey known as college. My journey through college was a long and rough one filled with many setbacks and road blocks of red tape. I was unable to participate in certain courses and had to overcome several hurdles just to be able to participate in a semester abroad. These factors, along with my most prevalent concern of how to pay for my college education made my college experience a much more stressful one, sometimes even at the expense of my own health. The stress piled on and took such a toll on my body that less than a month before I was to finally graduate I ended up in the emergency room due to cardiac complications. After this, I realized that something had to be done. It should not be this difficult and stressful to better oneself. This is when I decided that I was going make the journey an easier one for students who suffer from heart disease by helping to eliminate one of the most stressful factors affecting college students, their tuition woes. From this realization, came the Students with Heart Foundation.