Welcome to the Community! Look for updates and information about the site from this blog, as well as advice and news about online education, online colleges, and financial aid.
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Jeiy D'Silva
Education has always been an important goal in my life, because I knew it was going to make things stable for me in the future. I came from a difficult past! Unfortunately, my mother died and my father was an alcoholic. Growing up in various foster homes, I had no support and no where to call home. I worked very hard full-time for many years and often educated myself at community colleges and technology institutes, taking evening classes. I am currently pursuing a Bachelors of Science Degree in Information Security this Fall term at Walden University. It is a great opportunity for me to continue educating myself these days, especially during this time our economy is going through such a difficult recession. It often makes me question my path in where my life is heading towards. Although, it never hurts to continue learning since it is always a life long process to improve oneself. It has always been my Goal in life to make a significant difference, whether if it impacts another’s life positively, help a scientist with a research goal, or improve a company’s business process. Perhaps, I feel my Goal has a strong need to contribute my skills and knowledge in Technology and Humans. Our world depends on various technologies and information. We depend on computers, human interaction, and systems. I don’t think anyone could function without information. I would feel completely lost without information. Consequently, protecting information is another complex goal. This is one of the reasons why I chose to further my education in the field of Information Security. Knowledge is power! Furthermore, not everyone lives life with integrity or with ethical intentions. Others try to personally gain what we so harshly try to protect. We try to protect ourselves from others misusing our information, identities, documents, and computers. Therefore, I plan to grasp on the fundamentals of this specialization so that I can help others not just improve systems but secure their system information. With great confidence to foresee my future, I am eager to learn and grow within myself. I don’t often know if I’m making the right choices in life but there is no loss in trying to gain productivity and being constructive through education while the economy seems to slowly recover. I truly hope to be considered a great candidate for this scholarship. I truly believe I am worthy of being a true leader someday during my preparation for learning.
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Anthony Sessoms
Many have said the words "It's never too late," when talking about obtaining a degree. I am living these words today. I am a 45 year old married father of five enrolled in a nursing program full time while working full time for the Department of Veterans Affairs. I will probably look back at these current times as the hardest times in my life. I have a family to provide for and have found that my current position will not be able to do it. That is why I am going to school again. With 5 children and a wife to support I know that it is the only way for my family to have a good life. Currently I am just barely over the cusp for receiving any financial aid help so I am needing to find other ways. This money will definitely help for completing my goals. Although I am 45 I know that I will need to obtain my Nursing degree and continue on with my bachelors and Masters. This is what I want and need to do, but financially it is very hard. Any money would help so that I may achieve my goals and be able to support my family. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Anthony Sessoms
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Julie Kluth
After a twenty five year absence I have returned to college to achieve a long held dream, to work toward and receive a Bachelor of Science Degree. I know that by having a degree in hand I will be able to go farther and earn better wages than I have previously. Returning to college has also helped me to act as a mentor for my two college age children. I have also found fulfillment and a sense of purpose by returning to college. What really made all of this possible are online classes. When I graduated from high school in 1982 I began my college career. At that time I was attending community college and working full time. When I met my future husband and we opened our own business, it became apparent that I would have to give something up. There were not enough hours in the day to complete all I needed to do. Unfortunately, I gave up on my education. After my husband died of Kidney Cancer two years ago, I took up my passion for education and re-enrolled in college. While I have taken several classes at the college in a classroom setting, I find that my schedule fits best around online classes. They allow me to work at my convenience instead of locking me into a classroom for 3 hours an evening. I have the ability to do laundry while I am watching a PowerPoint presentation online. I can be interrupted by my children and resume work when their problem is solved. I have been in the Credit and Collections profession for the last nine years and have found that I want a change of career. While my pay is adequate, I am not passionate about my current employment. I have always wanted to go into the field of Psychology and have found my niche with Industrial and Organizational Psychology. I can bring my expertise of the corporate world to my love of working with people. I hope I will be able to make a difference in an employee’s life and help them to find their passion in their job. Online classes are making this dream a possibility for me to pursue. Online classes will be partly responsible for any success I achieve and help I am able to give another human being. My daughter’s have watched me complete my online classes and been fascinated by the formats used and the ability to learn at your own pace. Both of my children are now taking online classes for themselves and find that they are learning more in a shorter amount of time. We have also discovered that the feedback we receive from instructors and teachers is quicker and more constructive. I have shown my daughters that if their old Mom, who works fulltime and keeps house, can go to school and be successful at 45 years old, then it is possible for them at 17 and 19 years old. Life has a way of throwing up roadblocks and making us change our course. I am a living example of a woman who has been through the worst of times, but somehow comes out stronger on the other side. To be a widow at the age of 43 was not my plan, but then to give up college was not my plan either. I now find so much peace, satisfaction, and fulfillment by attending college and it is the availability of online course that have opened the window of a degree for me.
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Deena Fernandez
My name is Deena Fernandez. I am a woman, a mother; I am a first generation college student, and a manager. I am a Mexican-Native American, a wife, but most importantly I am a role model. When my daughter grows up I want her to know that her parents did everything possible to make sure she has good life and an even better education. But first, I must show her that anything is possible and she too can achieve any goal.
My goal is to obtain a Master’s degree in Business Accounting and become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), by doing that I will show my daughter that dedication and perseverance goes a long way when one is on the road to success.
Growing up I was not considered studious. Although I graduated with a 3.25 GPA, I always felt that it wasn’t good enough to get into a good college therefore never even tried. My parents never graduated college but insisted I go. But even as I was growing up I was always on my own when it came to doing homework or learning life’s lessons. My parents either didn’t remember or just didn’t know how to help me, as the curricular had changed drastically since they went to high school. But sometimes I just felt as if they weren’t in my mind frame. The only people I had were my peers. While some went off to college straight from high school on full ride with their parents putting up all the money to support their dreams, others just didn’t even bother. So here I was stuck in the middle. I wanted to go, but didn’t have the money to pay for it and my parents could not help. Even though I did qualify for financial aid, I ended up just wasting time and money by being enrolled but not doing the work. It was not fulfilling for me, but with my parents it was the old rule, ‘either go to school or get a job’.
So I got a job doing accounting for a small manufacturing company. It was there that I say I found my calling. I found business and accounting to come very easy to me. Not only did I adequately understand everything, but I was good at it. So I enrolled in an accounting class while attending Chabot College it was there that everything began to make sense to me. This is the field I belong in. I declared my major to be business administration and accounting. I was 18, working full time and going to school part time. But I for me it was difficult to juggle the two. I had to pay to go to school, but got paid to go to work therefore work always took priority. All too often I would get off of work and not feel like going to class, instead I would go hang out with friends or just go home. Nearly five years passed and I weaved in and out of classes, not really focused or serious about accomplishing what I had started. Until December 2007, I found out I was pregnant. It was then that I realized I have to be the best that I can be so that I can inspire my child to be the best they can be.
So I gathered my thoughts and decided that I wanted my child to have the best education, but I must first start with me. I cannot tell her to get her Master’s degree or PhD. But I have yet to graduate college. She needs to know that her mother and her father know what it’s like to go to college; we understand that it’s difficult. But at the same time she can see the benefits by taking a look at her life, our life and seeing that we made it through standing and proud. So for me obtaining a Master’s degree is not just a degree. It is my accomplishment, it is me saying that I have put my mind to doing something and I will do it. No matter the circumstances or the obstacles I will get it done. For me it’s fulfilling my dreams. So now, I am back in college considered three quarters, nearly full time and working full time on top of being a full time mommy. It’s hard and expensive, but I found the online classes to be extremely helpful and I have applied for financial aid. Upon getting my transcripts together and working out a schedule I have found that I only have 3 semesters left to get my Associates degree. That has inspired me as well because now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now I know that with a lot of hard work and perseverance, I am on the road to success.
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Earla Transue
I have always had a great desire for learning despite growing up in a working class family with parents who had no regard for education. That mindset influenced my thinking also. I was told, however subliminally, that I was not college material—that was for people of a different, better class. And I bought into it.
I dropped out of school in my junior year of high school. My grades were good and I liked school but my mother needed care and I was the chosen one to do the caring. I married young and had three children but my desire to learn never left me. To this day I get excited over new discoveries of knowledge from diverse subjects. That is to say "new" to me, not necessarily the world in general.
By the time I was twenty-eight years old I could no longer ignore my need to improve myself. I got my GED in Joliet, Illinois and, to my amazement, my five scores ranged from the 86th to the 97th percentile rank in the U.S. It was at that moment that I began to realize that I did not have much in common with Dorothy's tin man after all. I continued on to college for about one and a half years with a cumulative 3.72 GPA. I recall plunking away on my old manual typewriter doing a term paper while my little energetic son climbed all over my back. I was in college, learning and doing a great job of it! I loved it! However, once again, a family member needed care and so I was the one to do the caregiving. I dropped out of college thinking I would go back within a short period of time. But that was not to be.
One disaster after another plagued my family. My husband nearly died from a misdiagnosed ruptured appendix. He then had a serious lawn mower accident. My oldest son (as a pedestrian) was hit by a car and seriously injured. Shortly after his long recovery he had an accident while driving his truck. His fifteen-year-old passenger was killed and my son was charged with vehicular homicide. That sad day haunted our family for a very long time. In the interim my daughter's bouts with ill health began to escalate. Many visits through the years to numerous doctors during her childhood yielded minimal results. Also, during that time period, my oldest son was diagnosed with schizophrenia; my other son, who was blessed with a sound mind, graduated from high school; I divorced and remarried several years later and gained not only a new husband but a stepdaughter also. My daughter increasingly reminded me of my mother. Approximately nine years ago, when she was in her twenties, she was finally properly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A number of things began to fall into place as to why my mother behaved the way she did. After all, little was known about mental illness back when I was a kid. I so wish I could say my son and daughter took their meds, accepted therapy and we all lived happily ever after but that was not to be—at least not up to the present time. Years of turmoil, on and off estrangement, emotional distress and near financial ruin passed and I finally had a revelation. I can't fix it! Now there was a learning experience of a lifetime!
Once I learned "I-can't-fix-it" I started picking up my personal shards to begin my mending. Years ago I awakened to a small poem I literally dreamed up which ultimately became my small spark of fame. The poem never left my heart. Moreover, it has morphed into a gauge for my progression in my life.
SURVIVAL?
They say survival is where it's at
But I suspect that's just the beginning
Since surviving with nothing intact
Is the worst form of extinction.
I shared it with a psychologist I met and subsequently signed a release so he could include it in a book he was writing. I also entered it into a poetry contest and won the privilege of having it published. That, however, came down to a money thing. "Have your poem engraved on this plaque for only…" etc. But I am still mindful that it was indeed published and only about a hundred were selected out of what surely was thousands.
I believe that age is a state of mind rather than body and I am reasonably certain that I am years older than most, if not all, of your applicants for this scholarship. I am most definitely a so-called late bloomer probably because of my life's circumstances. But, regardless, I liken myself to a moonflower. A moonflower remains dormant during the day but opens quickly in the evening for all who so choose to see its glorious, fragrant bloom. It grows tall and would be patient and accepting of its lot in creation if flowers were so inclined.
Throughout the years I always had to work to help with the finances. I say "work" because the only employment that came close to a career with good pay, benefits and satisfaction was my eighteen years with the U.S. Post Office. Before that I drove truck, kept books, waited tables, cooked and basically did what I had to do to juggle my finances and still be there for my family. Presently, my husband, Bob, and I operate two very small businesses to supplement our retirement income. This is absolutely necessary because of the debt I incurred trying to help my daughter and now raising our sixteen-year old grandson, Gabriel. Gabriel is my daughter's child. Gaining custody of him was perhaps the hardest decision I have ever made but I know it was the right thing to do. His progress and happiness is evidence of that.
I would like to continue my education for several reasons:
- To be able to have a career that is edifying and pays well.
- To finish what I started years ago and
- To learn.
An online curriculum is ideal for me because I have discovered that my plans have one common denominator. They are subject to change. I'm okay with that. After all, I have made it this far with all of the life changes I have had to make. I juggle life very well and have self-motivation conjoined with a can-do attitude. I am a night owl in some respects and, just as I am doing writing the original draft of this letter, I do a lot of my work late at night when the house is quiet.
Thank you for this opportunity and the time you have taken to consider me for a scholarship.
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Jhonny Serrano
Getting a bachelor degree is one of the most wanted goals for everyone but a highly important effort for those who, by being parents, have to deal with their busy schedule to accomplish it. Since I got married, I have to put off my studies in order to work a second job just to be able to make enough money to meet our budget. I may have to say I wasn't financially ready for that big step.
My wife was an International student and for legal reason she had priority to continue in school no matter what. We were so busy with our schedule that we could barely see each other during the week. I was busy working throughout the day and some evenings/weekends; she was also at school during evenings and study over the weekend. It was too hard during that time. Six months later we found out my wife was expecting a baby… Woo! They were amazing news even though we didn't look for one yet. At this point things got harder!
We were lucky that my wife had our baby while she was doing her OPT (Optional Practical Training), so she didn't have to skip classes. I have always wanted to be able to study and continue my careers goals but I at this point, I was the only one working and taking care of our financial responsibilities. I was just sleeping 4 to 5 hours every day and it last for almost 2 years until I was able to get a new job. Now being a Dad of a beautiful daughter made stronger to continue working hard but it also raises another question: How am I going to be able to accomplish our family goals and the need to get back to school…? New family members always come with blessings.
I'm now a Help Desk administrator for a nonprofit organization that helps build democracy in other countries. I have forced myself to self-study through books, finding free online training for subjects related to my career and has helped me a lot. I can spend more time researching on the internet and it has been amazing all the things that I have learned great tools! I have also received training through my job which has been very helpful but no enough as if I could have been accomplished my desired dream of "Being a professional parent" so when my children find out everything we went through and did for ourselves and for them as well, they can follow our model.
Now I'm here writing these words to you, who can possible make parents like me to accomplish what they have always desired: Get their careers completed. I know one day will come and I will be there, lifting my diploma, just as I dreamed. Saying that everything can be possible if, just believe it.
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Connie Keeling
My name is Connie Keeling, I am 45 years old. I have 9-year-old twin boys and an 18-year-old boy still in high school. I am and have been a single mom for 18 years. It is hard to juggle work, school and motherhood, but it is worth it.
When I was pregnant with the twins I went to a junior college and got my Associate's Degree, I also got $30,000.00 in student loans which I am currently trying to pay back. But I got my Associate's in Criminal Justice and I am now a Deputy Sheriff in Montgomery County, TN. I work third shift in order to take care of my children.
I have been checking into going back to school to get my bachelor's since I am so good with kids and love them so much I want to be a School Resource Officer. I need to have a B.A.S. for that and if I had it I could do a lateral transfer since I am already a commissioned officer for Montgomery Co. Since I have worked for the sheriff department several S.R.O positions have opened. I am very qualified for that position but I don't have enough education to meet the standard.
Since I am already paying student loans and I have three children to take care of, going back to school is not in the budget for us. A scholarship and online classes would be the answer to mine and my children's dreams. And would get me off of third shift witch would create a better quality of life for me and my children.
Thank you for your consideration, Connie
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Lawanda Watson
As a single mother with two children, a 14-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter, I always stress to my children how important getting a good education is. There are many benefits to attaining the highest education possible.
I was pregnant with my son who is now a teenager, when I graduated from college with my Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration/Accounting in May 1994. I had so many obstacles that I had to overcome throughout my life and particularly during my college career that almost kept me from succeeding, but I continued to persevere despite the many setbacks. My junior year I almost lost my life to complications from Sickle Cell Disease which led me to a month long hospital stay, of which 11 days where spent in an intensive care unit on a ventilator; however, by the grace of God I survived that ordeal and soon thereafter became pregnant with my son, who I called my lifesaver.
I returned to school however, against my doctor's strict advisement, I was advised that I could only take no more than 2 classes per semester, which would extend my graduation date out another year. Needless to say, I took that route only to be hit with another obstacle in my last year wher I learned my father, and best friend, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given 6 months at the most to live. My dad lost the battle to cancer 3 weeks before I graduated from college which devastated me beyond words; however, because I was 5 months pregnant with my son I continued to press my way on and graduated despite the fact that I could barely walk due to what I later found out was another complication from my Sickle Cell Disease, which ended me up having to walk with a 3 prong cane, while 5 months pregnant in the heat of one of the hottest summers ever.
After I gave birth to my son in August of 1994, I was diagnosed with avascular necrosis of my right hip, which was causing the unbearable pain I began to experience in my last trimester of my pregnancy. Needless to say the deterioration of my hip was so severe that the only option I ws given at the time was a total hip replacement of my right hip. At the age of 23 and 3 months after I had given birth to my first child I had to have a surgery that was very rare for someone my age. After the surgery the long recovery period of atleast 12 weeks was an exteremely hard task to handle with a newborn baby to take care as well. I am thankful that I did have the support of my mother and family to lean on doing the process.
These are just a few of the struggles that I have had to endure and overcome in the 14 years of motherhood and 37 years of living. I did not have the help of a partner to assist me in the role of parenthood, because my son's father was incarcerated for the majority of my son's 14 years on this earth and he is till incarcerated to this day which has devastated my son in ways that I never imagined. I don't regret any of the sacrifices that I made for my children and I am grateful for every day that I wake up and want to be able to give someone else hope if I can. The one thing that I always continued to be hopeful about was that one day I would be able to continue to pursue my higher education by attaining my Masters's Degree. Now that I have a 5 year old daughter as well who looks up to me and thinks that I can do anything, the one thing that I want to do for myself is to go back to school to pursue my Master's so that I can show my children that nothing is impossible as long as you continue to persevere.
I am no stranger to adversity and I can't even begin to tell you everything else that I have endured in life because it's just not enough time. The one thing I am thankful for in life is my children and I want to make a better life for them and myself because I want them to know that giving up is not and option. Having a B.S. in Bus Adm/Accounting is a plus and the fact that I have over 12 years of experience in the Acounting field, I still have a desire to go higher. Over the years I have justified many reasons as to why I couldn't go back to school and attaining that goal such as time, money and my daily responsibilities that go along with being a full time mom, while working full time and coping over the years with the medical challenges that I have also had to face. One of my passions in life is to help hurting people to achieve their dreams. I want our youth to know that there are opportunities out there for them that don't include incarceration or death.
I want that single mother out there to know that she can overcome any obstacle despite the challenges that may come . My desire is to help strengthen families and the community particularly those who may have encountered trouble along the way and ended up on the wrong side of the criminal justice system. I want them to know that there is help out there and to make the right choices so that they don't have to end up on the wrong side of the law. However, if they do end up on the wrong path for whatever reason I want them to know there is hope and help out there for a brighter future if they just reach for it. That is why I have chosen to pursue my Master's in Criminal Justice, so that I can hopefully be that beacon of light to a lost and hurting generation.
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Rondeanda Williams
I am a 24-year-old single mom with a 7-year-old daughter. I have been working so hard to provide all that I can for my daughter since I was 16. I had my daughter at the age of 16 in the 11th grade. I did not let having a baby stop me for getting my education.
I finished high school while working full-time at McDonald's with a GPA of 3.0 with Honors.
I was depending on a scholarship in track to help me pay for college, but my bundle of joy came when I wasn't prepared for the responsibility. Even though I didn't get the scholarship, I still tried to further my education.
I enrolled in a Voc Tech school and received a certificate in Medical Billing and Coding. I attended school in the morning and still worked full-time at McDonald's. I felt once I finish my internship I would be able to start a real career. But, once again something uncontrollable happened. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Everything I had worked for was destroyed.
I had to pack all that I had left and relocate to Houston. It was hard for me to get on my feet. I was unemployed for about a year and tried to get a job in the field that I went to school for but was turned down because I did not have enough experience. I have to admit that I did get discouraged, but I did not give up. I enrolled into a continuing education program at a local community college and received a certification in Health Information. That was really hard because I really did not have anyone to watch my daughter in Houston. I worked out deals with daycare for my daughter in order to finish the program. Right now I work at a home health agency. I am grateful for my job but I feel like I can do better.
I am still struggling working paycheck to paycheck with no savings. I believe that I am a great candidate for this scholarship because through all my struggles I have not given up. I am determined, focused and dedicated. What I hope that my daughter will see is that I did not let having a child at a early age stop me from following my dreams.
Going back to school is my only option to get where I want to be in life. Going back to school and getting the proper eduction will allow me to save and get a chance to own my first home. This time in school will be different because I will not just have a certification but a degree. And with a degree no one can take that away from me. Kowing what I want out of life and where I want to be in life drives me to keep going. Taking these online class will help me get there the right way.
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Shonda Peeples
Going to college had always been a dream of mine. I am the youngest of 10 children. Being the baby girl after 9 boys was difficult.
My mother and brothers did not allow me any freedom. So when I graduated from high school and went to college, I became "buck wild." I attended parties instead of studying and then I became more interested in boys. Needless to say, I became pregnant with my oldest daughter and had to drop out of college. I married my daughter's father. We were married for 12 years and we had another daughter together. My husband and I separated when we gained custody of my nephew's daughter after his death.
With 3 young girls to raise,my dream of returning to school was very slim. I work full-time and try to attend the sporting events that they are involved in. This is very hard but I want them to participate in sports because I never had the opportunity when I was their age because my mother had to work 2 and 3 jobs to put food on the table for the 10 children that she raised by herself. I never realized what she meant when she would say "Wait until you have kids. You will see that it is not easy," or "Finish school before you start a family because kids are expensive." Thinking back, I wish I would have listen to her.
I preach everyday to my sixteen-year-old daughter and niece about staying in school and boys. I just hope and pray that they finish high school and college before starting a family. I placed my children and my elderly parents before my education. My father made me promise him before he passed away that I would return to school. I am keeping that promise, I will start this month at Virginia College in Huntsville, AL.
I will have to take out a loan or only take a class here and there because I do not have the money. My daughters have placed themselves on a budget and only ask for money when necessary because they want me to go to school.
I do not know how long it will take me to finish but I WILL finish! This scholarship would help me keep my promise and to achieve my goal.
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Karissa Lloyd
My name is Karissa Lloyd, I am a working parent of 4 children. I attended public schools in Richland County and graduated 96th in my class from Lower Richland High School in 1993 a class of 406. After graduating high school I attended South Carolina State University but only for a short period when I had my children, who arethe joys of my life. I never could follow my dreams of finishing school because I was a single abused parent of 2 children. I hasve lived in a family (SISTERCARE), which changed my life and got me back on track. I finally had a chance to start my life over but only depressed and in a financial rut.
On February 12, 2005, I married my long time friend on my birthday. I was glad to start over with a new husband and new situations ahead of me. I was dealing with a past of domestic violence but needed to continue my goal of going to school. I have attended Baker College On line but was not able to finish because of health issues and needed surgery. At the end of the semester I was bed ridden could not take my exams and lost my financial aid.
My life has been a journey of joy, laughter, disaster and destruction. I believe with hope and opportunity I can accomplish anything. What makes thing so different now is because I finally get a second chance at life.
I love my children and they deserve better from me. I have come so far and my children have been their every step of the way. My career goal is to become a Human Resource Manager because I love to help people experience their goals. I have worked in human resources as a file clerk and a payroll administrator but I could not go any further because I was not qualified educational. I realized my dreams while working in this field.
I have obstacle in my past but not in my way. I will and I can do anything because of my passion and my hope of change. Education will help me go above and beyond what I can ever expect. I have dreamed of finishing school which will help me in my path of success. An online education will allow me to be a full-time parent and a full-time student at the same time. It is right for me because it allows me the benefit of continuing to work and take care of my family.
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Heather Herrera
As a young child, I always knew I wanted to go to college. My parents did not even graduate from high school. My dad was 19 years old and my mom was 16 years old when I was born. Growing up, I saw how hard it was for them to make ends meet. I remember when I first found out what a "bounced check" was and I always thought it was kind of cool when our electricity would go out and we would use candles for light. As a child, I didn't not associate this with my parents' lack of education.
Over the years, I saw my dad go from job to job never being satisfied. Fortunately, my mom got a decent job at a car dealership where she worked for 15 years until she got laid off. Even now, she has trouble getting another job because of her lack in education. Both of my parents will never be able to retire. They have no savings for retirement. Needless to say, they had no savings for my college education when the time was approaching.
My senior year of high school, I started looking into scholarships. I really did not know the process and I didn't have much help. Then in February of my senior year I found out that I was pregnant. To make a long story short, I got married to my high school sweetheart, had a beautiful daughter, and graduated all in the same year (1995). College got put on hold. When my daughter was 1 year old, I enrolled in a local community college and signed up for 2 classes. I figured I would sign up for the classes I had the most trouble in high school, math and history, to get them out of the way. I passed my history class with a B. The math did not go so well. I took a self-paced class thinking it would all come back to me. I did fine until the math started getting in to calculus. I was never even exposed to calculus in high school. I got frustrated and quit college. I wanted to be home with my new husband and my baby.
Fast forward 13 years later. I am still happily married to my high school sweetheart and my daughter is a level-headed 13 year old straight-A student in gifted and talented classes. She already has her sights set on colleges. We now also have another beatiful daughter who just started kindergarten at the top of her class. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful family. I spent 12 years working in chilcare part time so I could be available for my children.
In 2007, an old friend of mine, offered me a job at his telecommunications company. It is a contracting firm that works on contracts from companies like AT&T and T-Mobile. I was hired as a contractor. Every time my contract would end, I would be off work for a couple of months without pay until a new contract would come along. It is hard to pay for daycare and keep things consistant for my children when I have to go a coulple of months without pay. I have searched telecommunications jobs in my area of expertise, and they all require a bachelor degree or at least 5 years of experience.
So now I find myself in the same predicament as my parents. I have been meaning to go back to school all of these years, but I haven't had the money. My husband and I have no savings for retirement or for college for our children. I would like to go back to school to get a business degree. Now that there are so many classes offered online, I have more time to complete classes and spend time with my family. I am so thankful for this opportunity.
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Mary Koehn
While I was completing high school, college was an optional life choice. It wasn't necessary to have a college degree in order to have a career—finding a good job where you could receive on-the-job training at and learn your trade was the normal route. College was for people that didn't need to work yet and could take their time in joining the work force. Businesses were looking for someone they could mold to their needs, someone that could accommodate their specific requirements, learning and growing with the company. Loyalty and longevity on the job was rewarded and encouraged. Unfortunately, today's job market is a totally different story with more and more older workers being let go prior to retirement or even having to go back to work due to their retirement fund having shrunk drastically in the current economy. With hundreds of job seekers for each advertised position, an applicant must offer more to the potential employer.
I've worked at one job or another (and occasionally even two at a time) since I was sixteen. The majority of those positions have revolved around accounting, with a wide variety of job industries, ranging from safety equipment suppliers to Internet marketers. My last job succeeded so well that the owner was able to retire at 39!
I've got an excellent work history, having stayed at several jobs for over 5 years at a stretch, ample skill history, working the same basic job throughout my career, am intelligent and independent enough to work out the unknown, obtaining any skills I may be lacking. I've performed accounting procedures manually as well as using modern skill sets on the computer. Yet, what is it that job advertisement after job advertisement wants? A degree. Many of the advertised positions don't even require a degree that is relevant to the job; any degree will do. Why? Does having stayed in school for a minimum of 2-4 years, regardless of your resulting degree, really carry more credence than life experience? Apparently, the answer is a loud and resounding YES with today's employers.
So what's a job seeker to do? Take a position that doesn't pay what is needed to live a fruitful life, let alone cover the basic necessities, but that you are "qualified" for? Bend the truth on your application, committing fraud and denying your own personal values? Or suck it up, conform to what is being required and go back to school to earn a degree?
Personally, the first two ideas are not real options. Which leaves the third option: School. Not a quick or easy solution but, potentially, a permanent one. One that can lead to a better life for my kids and myself. One that can allow my savings to grow rather than be depleted. One that can provide for my children's future, and both directly and indirectly, my own. One that teaches my children an incredibly important life lesson—that you're never too old to learn and grow and achieve your goals and dreams.
To achieve my end result of a college degree I know will be a rather daunting task. After all, I'm currently assisting my oldest child in HER goal to obtain a degree at Southern Oregon University. I've got two younger children to still provide for, a home to manage and am seeking a full time job to take over after my current seasonal job ends April 15th. Am I capable enough to take on even more, loading my schedule with even more activities then I already have? Is a college degree worth the additional work load, stress and sacrifices that would be required to achieve it? I believe so. I've taken online courses in the past and find them to incredibly convenient as I can often partake in them after the children are in bed or at the very least, after a normal work day, proceeding at my pace within the instructor's parameters.
My last position as a manager for an Internet Marketing business that I worked from my home office allowed me the flexibility to manage my household, be available for my children when they needed me, yet I still got the job done and done well. The position allowed me to become very comfortable with the Internet and computer, as well as learn to manage my time efficiently and effectively, juggling the many aspects of my life. Achieving an online degree would fit into the balance of my life easier and without as much inconvenience to my family more than attempting to achieve the degree the traditional route of traveling to a local college. Once my online degree is completed, I will be able to obtain a position with a reputable organization or company that will allow me to provide the life and future I want to my family and to myself.
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Frankie Allen
My name is Frankie Allen and I am a single 41-year-old mother of four wonderful children ranging in age from 12 to 18. I am currently working full-time as a school Secretary for At-Risk Youth in Hanford, California, where I have been for 3 years.
As a high school graduate, I joined the United States Air Force and proudly served our Country for a little over 5 years. During this time of my life, I knew the Air Force was where I was going to spend the rest of my working career and never planned for my future. Now, almost twenty-four years later, I am wishing that I had invested in myself more.
While in the U.S. Air Force, I married and had four wonderful children that I am now raising about seventy-five percent of the time. As life would have it, I divorced in 2005 and now have shared custody of our children who live with me during the school year and go to their father's every other weekend and every other holiday and half the Summer.
I have always been so involved in my children's activities, (i.e. baseball, basketball, volleyball, golf, NJROTC, choir, band, football) that I have forgotten about me and my future once again. My oldest daughter will be graduating from high school this year and is looking forward to going to college to be a Nurse. I have always pushed my children towards college because I never had the opportunity.
Now it's my turn. I know that if I do not go to college to further my education, I will be here in the same place in two years when my oldest son will graduate from high school. I want more for myself and more for children. I can no longer preach what I am not practicing myself.
I am interested in the Paralegal field because there are so many underprivileged families out there that cannot afford to get an attorney for every legal matter they may come across in their lives. As a Paralegal, I can help those in need of assistance. I have always been a helper of sorts. I truly believe that helping other is my life's calling.
I know that with a degree in the legal field, I will be able to look forward to my financial future and that of my children. I am worth it and I want to instill the same beliefs in my children that they too are worth it.
Thank you for your time and may God Bless all those single parents out there trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.
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Toussaunt Thomas
Hello, my name is Toussaunt Thomas and I am 37 years old. I have been married now for 10½ years and my wife and I just had a beautiful baby girl on January 28, 2009. I am a veteran of 8 years of service within the active duty Army and I have received an honorable discharge as of March 2004. My mother and father divorced when I was 9 years old leaving my mother to support me, my brother and my sister. As the oldest in the family, I have been working and making sacrifices all my life, at one point I entered into a culinary arts program at Harold Washington College in Chicago, but I stopped attending so that I could get a job and help my mother with the funds for purchasing the CTA bus tokens for my sister to attend college. Not long after that, I joined the active duty army and I enlisted for only 4 years with the full intent of coming right back to Chicago with the award of receiving a 4 year paid tuition at CSU (Chicago State University). At that time, if you entered the Army and your home of residence was Chicago and you received an honorable discharge from the Army, the university would pay for all 4 years of your tuition.
It was because of this that when I enlisted into the Army in January of 1996, I refused the GI Bill because I would save money in my military pay checks and I knew that once I got back home to Chicago, I would have my college paid for by CSU. Well, my time in the Army did not go as planned and I ended up re-enlisting in 1999 and going to Germany and then back to Fort Hood TX. with numerous deployments in between. In 1996 I was deployed to Kuwait, in 1997 I was deployed back to Kuwait, in 1999 I was deployed to Kosovo for a year and in 2003 I was deployed to Iraq for one year, and each deployment was within a Bradley Linebacker Tank Platoon. Also during this time with the Army, in the summer of 1998 after a year and a half engagement, I proposed to my fiancée and we got married on June 5, 1998. When I got out of the Army in 2004, I did receive an Honorable Discharge and my wife and I got our new home built from ground up here in Copperas Cove TX. where we currently live. Since I have been out of the Army, I did attempt to pursue college and I did attend Central Texas College (CTC) in Killeen, TX. for one semester where I took two courses. But I stopped attending so that I could support my wife’s college education and now she has received her BA in Psychology.
With our new addition to the family (a beautiful baby girl born on January 28, 2009 at 1:26am) Lord knows that I need more education which will open up brighter opportunities which will allow me to not just better support my wife but now to better support my FAMILY.
I truly thank you for taking the time to read this shortened version of my life and I pray and ask that you please choose to provide me with this opportunity to receive a full four year paid scholarship which I sincerely believe will create a life changing effect for my family and I.
Very respectfully,
Toussaunt Thomas
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