Cuts to Federal Education Budget are Cuts to My Future

I am the first from my family to graduate high school and choose to go to college. I grew up in Ogden in a family where college was never discussed. There wasn’t an “easy path” for me to follow. In fact, there were many obstacles. My parents were too busy with selfish things, like drugs, to care about whether or not I even went to school. I did not have the types of influences in my life that would encourage me to pursue a degree.

There were nights when I wasn’t sure if I would have a place to sleep, or food to eat, or clean clothes. With stressors like these in my life it was hard to even consider education beyond high school. And if I did, who would I turn to, to find information about furthering my education?

Fortunately for me, two things happened that changed the course of my life. First, I able to find legal guardians that would love and supply necessities for me. They introduced me to a life of love and happiness, which coincidently also meant rules and guidelines. They have taught me the importance of higher education in my life.

And second, I met a wonderful woman named Lindsay Beddes who introduced me to the TRiO Talent Search program. TRiO Talent Search is a program that identifies and assists individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education. In real terms, it helps students like me go to college. TRiO taught me about many colleges, took me on campus tours, and walked me through the processes of applying for admissions and federal student aid. Because of TRiO I was able to understand the importance of preparing academically for success in college, and I graduated from Ben Lomond High School having completed five concurrent enrollment courses.

Through TRiO Talent Search, I was offered multiple scholarships and had my choice of colleges. After weighing my options, I have decided to attend Weber State University where I will pursue a degree in communication: public relations and advertising.

TRiO programs assist students like me. And while there are more people like me then you might care to believe, TRiO believes in us. Unfortunately TRiO is at risk for further budget cuts, and I don’t think our legislators understand the necessity of these programs.

Recently, Congress made a commitment to preserving the Pell Grant program, but what about programs that actually prepare students to attend college and be successful? How are we going to receive those benefits if we’re not even prepared for college? I hope that by sharing my story, more people will see the value of federal education programs. Save TRiO, and invest in our future.

Shaquille Heath lives in Ogden.

http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/09/08/cuts-federal-education-budget-are-cuts-my-future

Scholarship Recipient – Rebecca Farnsworth

I consider my first semester back to school as an academic achievement. It was less than a year after my husband’s death that left me as a young widowed mother with five children under the age of 10.

A higher education is very important to me for many reasons. It will help me reach my personal, academic and career goals. Receiving my degree will open doors to better support my family, get off welfare, and start giving back to the community. My late-husband never went to college. This kept us in poverty because of the difficulty finding a decent paying job without a degree. A great concern after my husband’s death was “How will I support my family? I don’t have a degree.” I decided a college education was a must for finding a job, and I have found benefits to it along the way. For example, studies have shown that people with a degree are less likely to get into an abusive relationship. Receiving my degree will show my children that importance of college education in multiple ways. They will see the difference of what life is like without a degree versus with a degree. Watching my struggles as a student and a widowed mother with five children shows my children it is easier to receive their education while young rather than wait until a crisis hits later in life.

In January of 2010, I broke my leg. I spent eight-and-a-half weeks on crutches and then walked on a broken leg with a dislocated ankle for two months. In May I had my first surgery and spent another eight-and-a-half weeks on crutches. In August, one week before school started, I had my second surgery on my ankle. This year, I have spent more than 18 weeks on crutches while going to school, chasing children, cooking meals, cleaning house and fulfilling my leadership and service activities. This situation has been a physical and financial burden; not an easy task. I have come to appreciate my challenges. They give more self confidence, compassion, education, hands-on-experience. I become a better person with every difficult situation I overcome. There is good that comes from any situation/hardship if a person will just look for it.

Continuing my education is the best time I could have done. It has helped me heal from my husband’s death, and has given me more self-confidence. I plan to graduate in 2016 (sooner if possible) with a 3.68 GPA or higher.

Student Support Services has provided me with a tutor and helped with registration and making sure everything went smoothly. They have been an emotional support for me with getting used to a big campus. I can walk in at any time and they are willing to help I would be lost on the main campus if it were not for Student Support Services.

Scholarship Recipient – Robert Wayne Brown

Higher education is important to me for so many reasons. First, I am a first generation college student and an only adopted child so I cannot stress what a privilege I feel it is for me to be here at USU. Second, I come from a background where the money or the encouragement to go to college was not there for me. I have a great passion for education and through that education the idea of being able to make the world a better place.

In 2008, I found myself unemployed and struggling to make ends meet. Wanting to add some stability and better possibilities for my future, I applied for the Vocational Rehabilitation program for assistance attending college. I want to get a degree in Social Work and help others like me to be able to take their place as an important and productive member of society. It would mean so much to me to be able to earn an education that would allow me to help other recovering addicts and victims of sexual abuse and rape to know that anything is possible. No matter what mental disorders and trauma I may deal with, I want to be able to be an example of higher education being not only possible but achievable.

The people at Student Support Services have provided me with excellent information and help focusing my direction and energy. Also, by allowing me access to thing like early registration and classes taught specifically through SSS, I feel my chances of success have greatly increased; this is tremendously important to me as a non-traditional student trying to make a major change in my life. I have relied on and sought the help and advice from SSS on an almost constant basis which helps me to feel not so alone or detached in my endeavor.

Scholarship Recipient – Lose Uluave

When I was nine years old, my father was diagnosed with Lupus. He is now disabled and unable to provide for my family. My mother works twelve-hour shifts, Monday through Friday, to keep food on our table for my four sisters and me. It’s been a hard transition, but I’ve been able to learn responsibility as I take care of my younger siblings and attend school. My parents never wanted me to get a job and help out with finances, however, they wanted me to work hard in school and get good grades. I have two other sisters that are in college, and seven who are currently living at home. It has not been easy to help provide for everyone, but our family works together to improve our situation and make it work.

The bell rings at the end of second period and the lunch hour begins. My stomach turns, yet I manage to get up and walk out. I think to myself, “Where should I go? The library… no, I went there yesterday. I’ll just go to the bathroom.”

This year has been one of the hardest years of high school, academically and socially. I’ve been able to accomplish many of my goals with being a member of Student Government, singing in Ensemble and A’Cappella, and serving the community on the National Honor Society. However, I find myself stuck – stuck in between two worlds. I have a world of friends in my honors and AP classes, who are applying for colleges and scholarships just like me. I have many things in common with these kids but sometimes I feel like the Sesame Street song, “One of these things is not like the other.” They don’t live in my neighborhood or attend the same functions I do. And when it comes to lunch, I definitely won’t fit in at their table; brown girls don’t sit there.

On the other hand, I don’t quite fit in with the kids in my neighborhood either. I like Bob Marley’s music and hanging out after school, but I also like going to class before the bell rings and reading Crime and Punishment during the Christmas break. I don’t know how to screen in basketball or how to do the latest dance move: the jerk. My lack of “ghetto” knowledge as well as success in class equaled me wanting to be white or having a better-than-thou personality. And it was because of this reason that I wasn’t accepted in this brown circle of friends, either. I’ve had to withstand a lot of bullying and just outright mean girls who prey on anyone who is the most visible, and try to bring them down to their level.

Alumnus Zach Stickney Published

WSU Upward Bound Alumnus Zach Stickney was recently featured in an article published by Weber State University, excerpts of which follow. For the entire article, including information on this recent humanitarian trip to Kenya, please visit

http://www.weber.edu/WSUToday/122810zachstickney.html

“Zach Stickney’s outlook on life today is a far cry from the struggling youth he was in ninth grade. Back then, Stickney experienced so much tragedy, loss and turmoil in his life, he dreamed of quitting school in Utah and pursuing a fresh start in Texas.

“Flash forward six years. Stickney has indeed traveled far from the borders of Utah, but many of those trips are the result of his educational pursuits.

“Stickney credits WSU’s Upward Bound Program and its director, Dave Trujillo, for helping him replace his sense of hopelessness with a greater self-awareness and optimism. ‘Dave just had a knack for visiting me at school on the days that I felt the worst,’ Stickney said. ‘He made me realize that the biggest problem I had was really one of self-pity. The biggest thing that needed to change wasn’t my environment; what needed to change was how I reacted to it.’”

Our First PhD Alumna, Dr. Sarah J. Jackson

Westminster College is proud to recognize our first PhD alumna, Dr. Sarah J. Jackson!! Sarah Janel Jackson graduated from the University of Utah in 2005 with a Bachelors Degree in mass communication and African American studies; received her master’s degree in communication studies from the University of Michigan; and on December 1, 2010 she defended her dissertation, African American celebrity dissent and a tale of two public spheres: A critical and comparative analysis of the mainstream and black press 1949-2005, at the University of Minnesota to earn her doctorate in mass communication. We are extremely proud of her academic accomplishments and look forward to hearing about great things in her future.
We had an opportunity to ask Dr. Jackson a few questions about her educational journey and would like to share some of her responses with our ASPIRE family:

How did the McNair Program help prepare you for graduate school?
“I would say the most important things the McNair program did to prepare me for graduate school were to provide me with real world academic research experience and the opportunity to present this research in academic settings. It provided me with preparation for the GRE, as well as a better understanding of how to select graduate programs and successfully apply to those programs.”

Who inspired you most during your graduate career?
“The person who most inspired me during my graduate career was my adviser Dr. Catherine Squires. She not only provided me with invaluable insight into my field and various academic and intellectual topics, but also helped me navigate the political, emotional and psychological challenges of graduate education.”

If you had any academic challenges, how did you overcome them?
“I had several unique academic challenges because I transferred universities mid-way through my PhD. As a result I lost one semester worth of graduate credits and I had to take preliminary exams at two different places! However, I simply understood these challenges to be part of the decision I made to transfer which was based on my desire to continue researching with my adviser Dr. Squires. I knew that even if these challenges meant I would have to take more time to earn my degree or repeat some work, that in the broad scheme of things I would be better off as a scholar and have a better graduate school experience because of my decision.”

What advice do you have for our current McNair undergraduates and graduate students?
“My advice for undergraduate and graduate McNair students is not original and is simply this: Everything is possible. If you decide to accomplish something you can. The road, while difficult, will be made easier by taking advantage of the resources that programs like McNair make available, listening carefully to the wisdom of those who have come before you, striving for balance in your life, and always remembering that your worth is not based in what you do but who you are.”
In October 2010, the ETS project at Salt Lake Community College took juniors and seniors on our annual Northern College Tour. During the two-day trip, students visited Idaho State University, BYU-Idaho, Utah State University, and Weber State University, where they had a great time touring the campuses, visiting TRiO and other programs, and meeting other college students to learn about each school

Scholarship Recipient - Shaquille Kevon Heath

From ETS I have gained knowledge that has made the college process a lot easier.  Having to do this process alone, I am very grateful for the ETS program and its employees that have helped me every step of the way.

I have a cumulative GPA of 3.9 and 26 ACT score.  I take as many advanced, AP, and concurrent enrollment classes as I can, including U.S. History and Medical Terminology, both concurrent enrollment classes, my junior year.  This year I am taking AP U.S. Government and AP English.  My concurrent enrollment classes consist of Physics and Communications 2110.  I also have received Highest Honor Roll every year and have lettered in Academics.

Higher Education is important because, to me, it is the only way!  Higher Education opens doors that allow you to pursue many of life’s goals and dreams.  Not only does it provide education, but also experiences that help you to grow as an individual.

My financial need is quite great.  Right now I am under legal guardianship because of choices my mother and father made.  Both of them pursued drugs heavily when I was young, and I was abused and neglected.  Fortunately when I was in 8^th grade I was able to live with a close friend and her parents, where I reside currently.  When I turn eighteen, I will have to finance everything myself, which leaves me stressing for money to finance college.