My name is Nathalie Virem. My journey to founding the Nathalie Virem Foundation began with a dream and a plane ticket.
As a young French woman raised in Spain, I came to the United States on a full-ride soccer and academic scholarship. That opportunity, one I could never have afforded on my own, changed the course of my life forever. It gave me more than a degree. It gave me the belief that I could become someone who creates real impact in the world.
I earned an MBA, secured a green card, landed a position at a Fortune 500 company, and lived what many would call the American Dream. But behind the polished resume and picture-perfect milestones, I felt something missing: a deep sense of purpose.
Then, in 2014, I lost my mother to cancer. Her passing shattered me, but also awakened something sacred within me. It reminded me that our time on this Earth is not eternal. That realization changed everything.
In the quiet aftermath of grief, I found a profound truth: what matters most is not what we accumulate, but what we align with. Finding clarity in our purpose and taking intentional steps to fulfill it is a path that leads to a deeper joy. A joy no external success can ever match.
That loss broke me open in the best possible way.
In 2015, I trained as a professional coach through the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). I began to search not for more accolades, but for meaning. That search became a calling. And in 2016, I shared my personal journey in my first book Live With Purpose, an international bestseller that resonated with thousands.
But I knew I had to do more.
That book and my own full‑ride scholarship journey inspired me to launch this Foundation in 2018 and extend the same life-altering gift I once received to others: providing access to leadership development and clarity through a full-ride scholarship that opens doors, fuels dreams, and ignites purpose.
This Foundation exists for every talented, purpose-driven individual who just needs a hand to rise, because I was once that person.