Project Working Mom Scholarship Winner - Violet Curley
Violet Curley
My name is Violet Curley, and I am the forty-five-year-old mom of two amazing teenagers.
My son, Sean, graduated with highest honors from Plainfield High School this year, and has been accepted into the Honors Program at the Engineering School of the University of Connecticut. He plans to obtain his degree in Computer Science. My daughter Lauren is going into her junior year at Plainfield High, and made the Honor Roll every quarter last year. She hopes to become an English or Foreign Language teacher.
Their love of learning and passion for a good education is no accident. I have always impressed upon them the need for an education beyond high school, and used myself as an example.
A high school diploma is almost useless in today's tough world. I currently work in a warehouse, doing very strenuous physical labor, just to barely pay the bills. We make out okay when the warehouse offers overtime, but when there is no overtime available I have to take on a second job to make ends meet. I spent most of the last six months working seven days a week, the kids stepping up to the plate and getting themselves to school on time and doing well in their studies.
It is a very tough job market right now. Without further education, I see no way out of my dead-end employment options, and envision myself pushing my body to it's physical limits until retirement age, only to collect a very inadequate amount of social security.
However, a chance to further my education, as I have always encouraged my children to do, would open a whole new world of possibilities for me. To use my mind, rather than my body, to earn a living has been an out-of-reach goal, as education is expensive and every precious penny now goes to the mundane cost of day-to-day living.
An opportunity to obtain a scholarship to better my life, and the lives of my children, would be deeply appreciated, well-used, and not taken lightly.
It would give me the chance to practice what I have preached to my wonderful children, to show them that goals can be achieved if you work hard enough for them, and are passionate about them.
A degree in Business Management/Human Resources would be the culmination of a lifelong dream to strive to do better, to rise above circumstances, and achieve financial stability.