15/08: Another Bright Future
Category: Dollars for Scholars
Posted by: matt
The Bright Future Dollars for Scholars Program is one of the most unique Dollars for Scholars chapters in the Scholarship America family. The Bright Future program began in the Seattle area in 1999, as a way for high school juniors and seniors to enter professional and technical fields at area colleges while simultaneously completing high school; the program quickly partnered with John Marshall High School's Dollars for Scholars chapter, to provide financial aid for those students who were qualified for Bright Future but couldn't afford tuition.
In 2006, thanks largely to the program's success at John Marshall, the chapter's name was changed to Bright Future Dollars for Scholars, and now provides Dollars for Scholars scholarships to qualified students from all Seattle-area public high schools.
Those students include Crystal Patterson, a Marshall graduate who's now working in the University of Washington Hospital's ER and going to nursing school—thanks in large part to Bright Future Dollars for Scholars and the encouragement of her dad. KUOW Radio in Seattle spoke with Crystal, and we'll let their description introduce her story:
"Fifty hours a week, at the University of Washington Medical Center ER, Crystal Patterson is so busy that she barely has time to go to the bathroom. She's cleaning wounds, drawing blood, doing EKGs, all kinds of tasks. All the medical assistants work like crazy, of course, but 18–year–old Crystal is special in that she's been doing this for a year already while her friends finished high school. And, she's going to nursing school in the fall. And, her dad never made much more than minimum wage working as a janitor. She does think her story is significant because not everyone who comes from a low income family makes it. But she did."
You can listen to the episode of KUOW's Sound Focus that feature's Crystal's story right here. If you'd like more information about Bright Future Dollars for Scholars, you can contact our Northwest Dollars for Scholars Regional Office.
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In 2006, thanks largely to the program's success at John Marshall, the chapter's name was changed to Bright Future Dollars for Scholars, and now provides Dollars for Scholars scholarships to qualified students from all Seattle-area public high schools.
Those students include Crystal Patterson, a Marshall graduate who's now working in the University of Washington Hospital's ER and going to nursing school—thanks in large part to Bright Future Dollars for Scholars and the encouragement of her dad. KUOW Radio in Seattle spoke with Crystal, and we'll let their description introduce her story:
"Fifty hours a week, at the University of Washington Medical Center ER, Crystal Patterson is so busy that she barely has time to go to the bathroom. She's cleaning wounds, drawing blood, doing EKGs, all kinds of tasks. All the medical assistants work like crazy, of course, but 18–year–old Crystal is special in that she's been doing this for a year already while her friends finished high school. And, she's going to nursing school in the fall. And, her dad never made much more than minimum wage working as a janitor. She does think her story is significant because not everyone who comes from a low income family makes it. But she did."
You can listen to the episode of KUOW's Sound Focus that feature's Crystal's story right here. If you'd like more information about Bright Future Dollars for Scholars, you can contact our Northwest Dollars for Scholars Regional Office.
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