Oftentimes when giving to a cause, it’s not always clear on how it will impact another’s life. One GateWay Community College student was so moved by scholarships she received this summer, she sent a note of gratitude.
Thanks to GateWay’s Summer Success Scholarship, Stay on Track Scholarship and Summer Book Scholarship, Lyndsay Wilson, a single mom, was able to move forward with her educational goals to pursue an associate degree in Medical Radiography during the summer sessions.
“I am forever grateful for the scholarships and with this help I was able to prove to myself, my family, my friends and my peers that the best investment anyone could ever make in their life is an investment in their education,” she said.
As she raises her five-year-old son and juggles two jobs, Wilson balances all of her responsibilities and her education by taking things step by step. Her first step is to complete the prerequisites she needs in order to be accepted into the Medical Radiography program.
“The assistance allowed me to focus my attention toward my fast paced summer classes and to ultimately reach my personal goal,” Wilson said in her thank you to GateWay’s scholarship committee.
Since the Fall 2017, each semester Wilson has taken two to three courses at a time. Her summer scholarship insured that she didn't miss the opportunity to continue her progress during those summer months. With financial assistance, she was able to take two more courses this past summer while “saving as much as possible” for her next steps. After completing her associate degree, Wilson plans to move to a local university to complete her bachelor’s degree.
“They helped me plan for the future,” Wilson said regarding her scholarship support.
As she pushes forward and holds her head high, Wilson hopes to be an inspiration for her son.
“I want him to see that everything that I’m doing is for us, for my little family,” she said. “I want him to see me and say ‘my mom did all these things for me’.”
“Our goal is to encourage more students to apply for the scholarships that GateWay and the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation offer. Lyndsay personifies the GateWay student and I hope more like her would apply because we award approximately 300 to 400 scholarships to the general student population during the fall and spring semesters,"
said Suzanne Ringle, director of Financial Aid.
Many GateWay specific and more general Maricopa scholarships are available for students throughout the year. For Fall 2018, GateWay awarded more than 1,200 students’ scholarships.
“For a student body as small as ours, that's a significant number,” said Ringle.
To apply and for more information, visit https://www.gatewaycc.edu/scholarships.