Scholarship Blogosphere

Dr. Clifford Stanley, president of Scholarship America, took the opportunity last week to be a part of a terrific event in our own offices' backyard -- the first annual Celebration Of Education event in St. Paul, MN, held by a group of private scholarship providers to celebrate more than 100 students who received scholarships to further their education.

As the St. Paul Pioneer Press put it:

"And may a warm sun and a few bright lights grace today's to-do in Rice Park, where five private organizations have called a party to encourage the 100-plus graduating seniors whom they've awarded college scholarships. There'll be food, music, short speeches by dignitaries such as Mayor Chris Coleman, school Superintendent Meria Carstarphen and Scholarship America CEO Clifford Stanley — and some remarkable young people who are the guests of honor. ...

"'We feel we're just doing what we should be doing,' says John Tillotson, a vice president with the financial firm Smith Barney. Tillotson has been involved for a dozen years with the scholarship program of the Optimist Club of St. Paul [which awards scholarships through Scholarship America's Dollars for Scholars program]. From his office overlooking Rice Park, Tillotson has been working for months on today's event, thinking, 'Let's celebrate what these kids have done. Let's celebrate what our local schools have produced, and let's celebrate the community gathering its resources to send these kids on to higher education.'"

You can read the full Pioneer Press article here; our congratulations to the students, and our thanks to everyone who helped them take another step toward their educational dreams.

The Fergus Falls (MN) Daily Journal has long been one of many newspapers in the country that actively and frequently publicizes the work of their local Dollars for Scholars chapter, including a series of columns from college freshmen who've won scholarships from Fergus Falls Dollars for Scholars. And, now, the paper is presenting some live-action media, too, on their Videos Page. Click there and scroll down to May 1 to see an interview with chapter president Dave Schneeberger about his work with Dollars for Scholars and the impact the program has on this small central Minnesota town. You can also get to the video directly by clicking here; be forewarned that it'll auto-play, so adjust those speakers before you click.

Scholarship America's President Cliff Stanley visited the Downtown Magnets High School Dollars for Scholars Chapter in Los Angeles while on a trip to California last week. As College Counselor at the high school, Lynda McGee has created an inviting and welcoming area for her college center. Her efforts at the school have been rewarded with a 98 percent college-going rate for a high school population that is primarily Hispanic and low income. The students are pictured in the front row, and in the back row from left to right is President Stanley; Ann Worley, Executive Director CA Dollars for Scholars; and Lynda McGee.

Scholarship America's Northwest Dollars for Scholars region held its Light the Fire for Education event yesterday; as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer mentions, University of Washington president Mark Emmert was honored with the 2008 Community Hero Award, thanks to his work in developing the Husky Promise scholarship program (which provides free tuition to UW for low-income students.)

We'd like to congratulate President Emmert, and Northwest Dollars for Scholars; stay tuned for a full recap of the Light the Fire event.

Monday's Washington Post features an inspiring story about Ashley White, a recent graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C. As a middle schooler, Ashley competed in the National Spelling Bee and was featured in the documentary Spellbound. By 18, though, Ashley had gone through a number of foster homes and found herself living in a homeless shelter with her newborn daughter.

The Post ran a story on Ashley in 2004; in an amazing display of community support, readers offered her financial support, jobs and mentoring. With their help, and through a series of part-time jobs of her own, Ashley was able to attend Howard, where she just graduated magna cum laude. In addition, one of those part-time jobs, at a nonprofit advocacy and support group for teen parents in the D.C. area, will now be full-time, as Ashley prepares to attend graduate school.

For more on Ashley White's remarkable story, you can visit her Web site; we at Scholarship America salute her efforts, and those of her community.

There's been a lot of talk, lately, about the rising cost of tuition for college students and the seemingly insurmountable debt that more and more college graduates are facing. (Thankfully, Scholarship America is helping to offset the cost of tuition by making available a wide variety of scholarships through community-based Dollars for Scholars chapters and Scholarship America's national scholarship programs, so students can graduate with fewer loans rather than more.) It turns out that this year's upcoming college graduates, who may be worried about being bogged down by large student loan payments, can worry a little less. CNN.com has recently reported that 2008 college graduates can look forward to entry-level salaries that are 4 percent higher than last year's alumni, according to a recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. It gets even better - hiring those who are fresh-out-of-college is predicted to increase by 8 percent.

Salary increases vary according to the discipline - those with liberal arts degrees may see increases as high as 9 percent! Check out the article to learn more and to see where your degree fits in. (We should also note that these are national averages so salaries for your discipline will vary according to what region you live in.)