Popular Post teachermom2834 Posted March 26, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) Last week my oldest ds's college called my dh and invited us to an awards ceremony at the school. They told him that ds would be receiving some kind of award but didn't tell dh what when he asked. I decided to drive the two hours and go to the ceremony and take ds out to dinner as we have not seen him this semester. The awards ceremony was mostly for graduating seniors and looking at the program we couldn't figure out what ds (a junior) would even be up for. Turns out they award a few scholarships to upcoming seniors that were not listed in the program. My ds won two of the four scholarships awarded! The first he was aware existed because he applied and interviewed for it. It was an endowed scholarship funded by the alumni association of the accounting department of the school. It is substantial and the letter he got explained that the alumni association stipulates the award be stacked and not reduce any other offers from the school. The other scholarship he didn't even know about and did not apply for. It was one of two endowed awards given to rising seniors who have demonstrated excellence in the classroom and in contributing to life on campus and in the community. He doesn't even know how much it is, but it seemed like a big deal! He has gotten smaller endowed scholarships from the school in the past without any notification or fanfare. They just showed up in his account. So, the assumption is this is substantial as well. He is anxious to get over to financial aid this morning and find out the details. Ds has paid for his own school. He got a good financial deal going in, then won a large scholarship from my dh's employer that the college allowed him to stack without reducing their aid. He has worked long hours at miserable jobs in the summers and taken a few loans (not even to the max of the federal limits) and taken pride in carrying the load of financing his education. He has scrimped and saved and lived in the oldest junkiest dorm to save money. Now, it looks like he has a full ride for his senior year. Tuition, housing, etc. everything should be covered. I am just so happy for him to get this sweet unexpected reward to go into his senior year for free. He already has a professional internship and a side hustle lined up for summer so he will make a good chunk of money and for once actually be able to keep it and not pay for his school. He has worked so hard and with such a great attitude. I am just so proud of him and happy for him. Ds introduced me to the husband/wife couple that presented the award. They are both accounting alumni and have worked in the "big four" accounting firms and are active in giving back to the school. The told me they are already working on getting him lined up for jobs and they both told me that he is graduating into a powerful alumni network and will always have a job. It was an obvious point of pride to them that they claim 100% job placement for accounting grads. My ds has already been to multiple recruiting events for one of the big four firms as well as smaller firms and banks in the city. Such a nice night for ds. He is bright and hard working but he isn't ever the smartest kid anywhere. He has never had a 4.0 and isn't even the top of his accounting class in GPA. But he works hard and is humble and a good leader. He's just a good kid. He could have gone to higher ranked schools or schools with more amenities but he went to tiny Oglethorpe University in Atlanta with a 76% admission rate. People in Atlanta usually have not even heard of it. LOL. He got a fantastic value, has had a nice experience, and it looks like he will actually have a job in the end. Another kid not ruined by homeschooling! Edited March 26, 2019 by teachermom2834 56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 What an amazing story! Thanks so much for sharing it -- I'm so excited for your ds! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzyMom Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) That is wonderful!!! So great for your ds to see at a young age that hard work and character pay off! His maturity and work ethic will take him far. You have every reason to be proud. So glad his financial burden is lifted for his last year. Wonderful! Edited March 26, 2019 by JazzyMom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I love his story! Congratulations to him! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 How wonderful! It sounds like your son is a great kid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Awesome story--congrats to him!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heres_a_llama Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 I graduated from Hendrix, and which is also part of the SAA. Your description of Oglethorpe and your son sounds so familiar to me - so many of my classmates at Hendrix weren't the world's brightest, but they were passionate, humble, hard-working students that blossomed at college. So glad to know these schools still exist out there! May your son only have continued success! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Congratulations to all!! Thank you for sharing this story with us! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 23 minutes ago, heres_a_llama said: I graduated from Hendrix, and which is also part of the SAA. Your description of Oglethorpe and your son sounds so familiar to me - so many of my classmates at Hendrix weren't the world's brightest, but they were passionate, humble, hard-working students that blossomed at college. So glad to know these schools still exist out there! May your son only have continued success! Yes! Ds applied to most of the SAA (except Hendrix and Millsaps due to distance from home). They are small schools, certainly not right for everyone, but with nice opportunities for some kids that fit. I was pretty unsure of his choice when he started out but it just has worked out so nicely. Thanks so much, to everyone, for sharing in my excitement. I watch what I share in real life beyond those very closest to us but I was anxious to share somewhere 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 This speaks well of you, your son, his university, the professors, and the alumni network. All wins. Thanks for sharing this story! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flor Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Many congrats. Most happy for you, what joy for all of you and encouragement for all our homeschool families. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QumaCote Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Woo Hoo!! Thanks for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Congrats to him! I bet you're really glad you went 😎 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 What a great story, teachermom. I'm glad you were there to see the awards in person. Kudos to your son! Regards, Kareni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easypeasy Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 That is so wonderful!! Congrats to your son! It's always SO nice to see their hard work noticed and rewarded by other people. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 That is a really, really nice post--and a great life lesson about working hard, delaying gratification, sacrificing, and persisting. Good on him! Brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Wow, sounds like an amazing young man!! COngrats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 That is really neat. How wonderful to see his hard work and attitude recognized. And thanks for sharing the school. You don't have to go to a school that everyone recognizes to have a fruitful life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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