Today as schools everywhere are starting to plan and register for the upcoming school year, I'm thinking about my time at Friendswood High School, where I taught Spanish from 1986-1994. Here's a page from a 1991 yearbook;
the caption says I was dressed as an elf but I'm pretty sure it was a Peter Pan costume. In any event, I really loved my time there, working with teenagers whom I always said are just little kids in bigger bodies.
Recently, I've run into two FHS grads, both of whom were in my Spanish class. The girl, now a mother of three teenagers herself, tells me that she uses her Spanish as a bridge between cultures in her calling as a nurse. As she spoke for me, her beautiful accent made my soul sing.
The man, now a professional photographer and father of two young boys, had a different story. He says that he hated my class, mostly because he didn't think he was very good at Spanish. Be that as it may, he added, "But I still remember this!" and, before I could say anything, he starts singing his alfabeto en español, the ABCs song in Spanish I'd taught him nearly three decades ago.
Be still my teacher heart.
It was such a blessing to go back to FHS as a parent
two decades after I'd been there as a rookie teacher.
Our three children even had some of the same teachers
I'd worked alongside of all those years back.
They played in the band, they won Science Fair,
Social Studies, and Spelling competitions,
and they even earned some scholarship money.
But oh how I wish they'd have had this book for "attacking their scholarship search, their money mission" when they went through.
This scholarship strategist, using a phrase we use in character education
{If it is to be, it is up to me.},
encourages students to not play the waiting game but instead to take the bull by the horns and go get those funds that are out there just waiting for them.
She echoes what I used to tell the kids, that you can't win if you don't enter!
According to O'Toole, "Higher education costs continue to rise. Student loan debts has surpassed credit card debt in the United States reaching $1.5 Trillion dollars. Whether it costs a family $30,000 or $300,000 for a college degree, scholarship monies can dramatically reduce costs and benefit the bottom line."
Her comprehensive handbook is brimming with truths and tips
for searching for and finding scholarship money along with
other resources and helpful hints around navigating
college admissions and cutting college costs.
She suggests applying for the local and regional scholarships first; our daughter did just that and received scholarships from our Chamber of Commerce and our Rotary Club. She also got the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Scholarship and we are forever grateful to all of those volunteers for their support.
She'll debunk some scholarship myths as well as discuss how students as young as Kindergarten and those older than 30 can still earn scholarships.
There's even a page dedicated to Wacky Scholarships;
who knew there was a Do-Over Scholarship?
Wherever your student is in this college application process,
this easy-to-read book will serve to advise and facilitate.
Check it out; it'll be a small investment
that could net huge dividends.
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