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Student Success Stories 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.
*** Jacob McKissick has served as a student representative on Scholarship America's National Advisory Board for several years; prior to that, he was a scholarship recipient from a Northwest Dollars for Scholars chapter. Here's his story, as told to us by Erik Ramstead of Nooksack Valley Dollars for Scholars, Jacob's chapter: In the fall of 2002 the Nooksack Valley Dollars for Scholars board met for a monthly meeting. On the agenda was a student that came with a proposal for our board to consider. Jacob J. McKissick, a 2002 Nooksack Valley senior, approached the board with a inspiring concept. Jacob introduced himself and asked our organization for help with his senior project. Jacob wanted to start a scholarship for students with learning disabilities. Jacob told us he had a documented learning disability that prohibited him from learning using traditional methods. Jacob participated in sports and other school activities but often needed a tutor and special classroom instruction to complete his classes. Having to try harder than most students, Jacob was able to maintain a 3.42 GPA and had been his class president and president of the Future Business Leaders of America club. *** Nicole Frank: From Scholarship Recipient to Ph.D. Candidate A Dollars for Scholars scholarship is more than getting money to pay for college. It’s about a community showing support for its young people and encouraging them to reach for their dreams.
The UW and federal assistance that she received helped meet much of her financial need. But her Dollars for Scholars scholarship did more than provide the last critically needed financial assistance—it was the catalyst, the fire, the vote of confidence that ignited her ambitions and gave her the blast of inspiration that put her on the road to a remarkable career at the UW. Nicole excelled in college both inside and outside the classroom. She organized a college readiness program at Seattle’s Rainier Beach High School––a school with many low-income students and low college attendance rates. She also led a summer math program at the same school. In 2002, Nicole simultaneously earned bachelor’s degrees in Sociology, Statistics, and Applied Computational Mathematical Sciences. That set the stage for her advanced degree. Last fall she began work on her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania on a full-ride fellowship. “My Dollars for Scholars scholarship is what really got me going––the real springboard from high school to the UW,” Nicole says. “I never dreamed that it would start me down this road.” The recession and escalating costs of higher education increase the likelihood that more students like Nicole will be wondering how they will be able to afford college. This makes it more important than ever for Dollars for Scholars to reach new levels of success in scholarship fundraising.
Because College Doesn't Happen By Chance®.
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Nicole Frank’s experience is a great example. She graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle in 1995, and entered the University of Washington (UW) that fall. Although her hardworking, single mother was an inspiration to her, Nicole knew her mother could not afford to send her to college. Nicole didn’t know how she would manage to pay for college, even though she had worked and saved throughout high school.