Meet Bonnie from Ambassador Christian Academy (ACA)

February 20, 2026

Meet Bonnie a first-grade student at Ambassador Christian Academy (ACA). The family shared her health struggles and how the scholarship from the Arizona Leadership Foundation made a difference not only for school choice but for the family’s financial peace of mind.

From Bonnie’s mom, Sammie:

When Bonnie was two years old, she was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and it had spread to one of her lungs as well. She underwent seven months of chemotherapy and radiation, along with three surgeries: two to insert and remove her port, and one to take out her kidney, which had been overrun by cancer. After treatment she was doing okay but at her first check up her oncologist saw that the cancer came back in her lung. She had to undergo another surgery to remove that part of her lung and battle cancer yet again for nine months with more intense chemo and radiation. It was extremely hard on her and our family. She has since been in remission for just over three years and we are thankful every single day. Although she has completed treatment, she still must do scans and bloodwork every few months. She was recently diagnosed with stage three chronic kidney disease, so now she is also seeing a nephrologist and having to take medications and supplements to keep her kidney as healthy as possible. Bonnie’s cancer diagnosis and treatment were costly and our family, along with the emotional trauma of having dealt with her cancer diagnosis, has suffered a financial burden from the four and a half years of treatments and checkups having to do with defeating cancer, as well as ensuring that it does not return.

The family said they were looking for a smaller Christian school that offered a variety of subjects and was able to specialize instruction, allowing students to learn at their own pace. They ended up at Ambassador Christian Academy for kindergarten and are now in their second year and are happy with the community.

At school Bonnie likes art class, handwriting, phonics and, of course, recess. Outside of school, she participates in competitive cheerleading. When Bonnie has free time, she likes to ride her bike and play at the park with friends, she also loves to snorkel and swim.

When Bonnie gets older, she would like to attend Northern Arizona University to study nursing so she can become a pediatric oncology nurse to help other kids with cancer.

“Bonnie is very sweet and kind with a lot of bubbly personality. She makes friends with everyone and is always willing to help others. She is very bright and picks up things quickly in all subjects. Bonnie clearly loves Jesus and everything girly!” – Mrs. Dorsey, Kindergarten Teacher

“I have only had the pleasure of teaching Bonnie since August, but she has found a piece of my heart with her energetic and fun personality. Bonnie is a sweet girl and brings joy to everyone because she always has the biggest smile!” – Mrs. Turner, First-grade Teacher

“Because of all the medical expenses the scholarship from the Arizona Leadership Foundation is extremely helpful to our family by providing Bonnie with an outstanding education. She is an incredibly hard-working and smart young student who has accomplished hard things already and does not shy away from difficult and challenging tasks. Bonnie has checkups and scans ahead of her that will accrue more financial costs, and it gives our family peace of mind knowing that she had a scholarship to attend school. It has helped ease the burden of paying for her medical bills and it also honors her battle with cancer and emphasizes our strength as a family and our faithfulness,” Sammie Osborn shared with us about being thankful for the ALF Scholarship.

About Ambassador Christian Academy:

Everything we do at Ambassador Christian Academy (ACA) incorporates a biblical worldview, while putting ourselves under the authority of the scriptures. Because of this, we consistently proclaim the gospel to our students by our words and actions. ACA offers individualized instruction where each student is allowed to learn at a pace that works for them, within the expected standards and goals set by the teacher. Every day, our students have clear, measurable learning goals in each subject from kindergarten through 12th grade. Because instruction at ACA is individualized, your child can use most of their time developing the skills to learn to master each subject. Our class size is 16 or fewer students. This allows our teachers to attend to each student’s individual needs.

Find out more at: acaaz.org