Thank You Scholarship Donors

Korrin B.

February 26, 2009 - 1:02 PM

This week, I received an email from one of the staff members of the UO Robert D. Clark Honors College. He asked if I could send him a photo of me because they are in the process of putting up a bulletin board to honor this year's scholarship recipients. I was lucky enough to be one of those recipients.

This year, the Joy Poust Scholarship is helping me pursue my education here at the University of Oregon. An individual, private donor funds the Joy Poust Scholarship. It is awarded based on financial need and academic excellence. To apply for it, I had to write an essay describing my academic interests and accomplishments and how the scholarship would help me in my future endeavors. This was not hard to do, since scholarships have become increasingly important to me throughout my college years.

I will be taking a fifth year to graduate, something that has become more and more common with college students. However, although it may be more common, that does not mean that it costs any less money. This is especially true for me since I pay out of state tuition, which is exorbitantly higher than in state tuition. Therefore, each year I apply for as many scholarships I can. I strive to maintain a high GPA that will set me apart from others, receive the best faculty recommendations I can, and work meticulously at writing the highest quality essays for the applications.

For the Joy Poust Scholarship, I discussed my newly chosen major of Planning, Public Policy, and Management and how with its interdisciplinary nature, it is an absolute perfect fit for me. I explained how I wanted to use it to do environmental sustainability plans. This dream has since changed, but as I stated in my application for next year that I recently sent in, that is because that's what college is for. This is the time to change your mind about things and try on different hats until the right one fits. I feel as though the liberal arts education I receive through the Honors College helps guide me in this direction.

Overall, I cannot even begin to describe how important scholarships are for me, my family, and all students pursuing a degree in higher education. The financial burden of college can be great, but scholarships help to ease that stress. I will forever be thankful to all of the donors to the UO who help support individual students in their quests for knowledge. Someday, I will create my own scholarship fund for a UO student, knowing how much it helps them.