Cuando Shayla Skipp perdió a su esposo hace tres años a causa de un linfoma, dijo que lo único que la mantuvo en pie fueron sus tres hijos y su compromiso de seguir una educación superior.
Today, she takes classes at SUNY Oswego's Syracuse campus part-time with a goal of earning a bachelor's in human development in 2020 while juggling the responsibilities of a single mother.
Skipp también es una de las dos beneficiarias de una nueva beca creada por Visions Federal Credit Union. La beca proporciona $500 cada semestre a dos estudiantes de medio tiempo del campus de Syracuse con necesidades financieras.
"This scholarship will allow me to have less tuition cost so that I can purchase a laptop for my online courses, books, school supplies, child-care and aid in the help of transportation to and from school," Skipp said.
La otra becaria de Visions Federal Credit Union es Casey Stewart de Syracuse, quien se especializa en administración de empresas. Stewart actualmente trabaja como líder en Spectrum Community Solutions y espera desempeñarse en algún momento en la administración de recursos humanos.
"Our hope in creating this scholarship was to empower non-traditional, independent students to stay the course and earn their bachelor's degrees," said Tim Strong, community development manager for Visions Federal Credit Union. "We consider ourselves part of this community, and as a credit union, believe in the "people helping people' philosophy. We're happy to be able to provide this scholarship to deserving, hard-working members of our community who are looking to better themselves through education."
Stewart dijo que además del apoyo financiero, la beca también sirve como motivación para esforzarse más.
"It means so much to me to know that my community supports me going back to school to get my bachelor's degree," she said. "I know how much education is worth, and to know that Visions supports someone like me to go back to school means the world to me. I will give everything I have in each class I take toward this degree."
Jill Pippin, decana de la División de Aprendizaje Extendido de la universidad, que administra el campus de Syracuse, dijo que está particularmente agradecida de que Visions esté apoyando a estudiantes no tradicionales a tiempo parcial a través de su nueva beca.
"These students not only must submit to the rigors of their academic program, but they juggle competing demands of work and personal life. This scholarship means so much more than money; it reduces one of the many roadblocks that adult learners have and enables them to pursue and attain their higher education goals," Pippin said.
"Navigating the path toward higher education isn't easy. Brindar este apoyo aligera la carga de alguien enfocado en continuar con su educación y le da el ánimo necesario para perseverar", manifestó Pippin, quien se graduó de SUNY Oswego en 1995. "Our college community is thankful to have a partner in Visions who understands this and who has directed resources to help these eager students achieve their educational goals."
