scholarship

With double-digit unemployment in much of the country and unemployment specifically hitting college age workers, the ability of most college students to work their way through school is declining. Federal student aid, local scholarships and even work study are in short supply making it that much harder to find ways to finance an education. Despite what some political candidates may recommend, we can't all turn to our parents to fund our education. Those are just the tip of the iceberg of reasons why I need to receive the Alumni South Florida chapter scholarship.
As an African-American man studying education, I know that I am an unusual commodity. According to the Department of Education, less than 2 percent of the 4.8 million teachers in the United States are African-American men. That makes it even more important for groups like yours to support those of us who are planning to reverse that trend and get more men back in to teaching schools. I have chosen a field traditionally dominated by men; I am seeking my Bachelor of Education in Industrial Technology. I work summers and part-time during the school year to help reduce the role student loans will play in my future. My school work has to come before work and yet my work is required to pay for my schooling. The cycle of constantly trying to balance school and work leaves me little time to "enjoy the college experience."
I had a teacher once who told me that part of why we go to college is to learn to become adults. To make decisions, good and bad, that help impact the men we will become. Today, I'm asking you to help me become a man who passes education on to others without the overwhelming burden of enormous student debt. Your scholarship can help me to better balance school and work while still becoming the man I was meant to be.