Tears of Joy - a student scholar story
Toni Rice, from Columbus, Ohio, is pursuing a Business Administration degree at Ohio Dominican University. Her aspirations are all focused around giving back, saying, “What I want to do the most is to one day create my own non-profit organization that will help and benefit orphan children as well as children in rough living situations.” Toni chose ODU for its business program, small class size to ensure more professor to student interaction, and the campus is close to home. Toni was able to complete her freshman year with a Parent Plus Loan. Unfortunately, her mother suffered a disabling accident and is now physically unable to work. As she prepared to enter her sophomore year, Toni learned she was not approved for the Parent Plus Loan because her mother no longer has an income. Working part-time at Chipotle Mexican Grill, and not knowing how she would be able to pay tuition of about $5,000 per semester, Toni faced the decision of either sitting out of college for a year or transferring to community college until she could afford to return to Ohio Dominican. When she received her financial award letter, including notification that she had been awarded an Enterprise Holdings Scholarship Toni said, “I literally cried tears of joy. Not only does this scholarship cover the rest of my tuition, but it leaves me with a credit which I can use towards my school books. I feel as if I can’t possibly thank you enough for giving me this opportunity. I truly thank you with all of my heart for this scholarship and look forward to proving so through my grades this semester.” With the scholarship funding provided by Enterprise Holdings through The Ohio Scholars Program®, Toni is making steady progress toward successfully achieving her bachelor’s degree.
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