Recession Relief Scholarship: And the Winner is….

Congratulations to Aron Airall as the 3rd Quarter, 2008 Recession Relief Scholarship winner!

“Ty Cobb was considered one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game. And they asked the baseball scout, they said ‘It’s true you know you passed up Ty Cobb? You didn’t sign him up?’ And he said,’That’s true, I didn’t sign him up.’ He said, ‘I did check him out.’ He said, ‘When I watched him he was a good baseball player.’ He said, ‘but he wasn’t great. He didn’t play fabulous and I passed him over.’ And they said, ‘Well what happened?’ He said, ‘Well three years went by.’ Thanks Straightforward Media for your support! In health and wellness, Aron”

Congratulations to Nicholas Latorre as the 1st Quarter, 2008 Recession Relief Scholarship winner!

“Hi, my name is Nicholas LaTorre. I am currently enrolled at Rider University as an English Literature and Secondary Education double major. I graduated from Pemberton Township High School where I was heavily involved. I was the Editor in Chief of the Yearbook, an editor of the school newspaper, a member of National Honor Society, a Junior Rotarian, a class officer, and a founding member of both Project: Holiday Smiles and Teen Pep at my school. I also was recognized for being in the National Honor Roll, receiving the Outstanding Achievement Award, and, my biggest achievement, being the Valedictorian for the Class of 2008.”

Congratulations to April Morrison as the latest Recession Relief Scholarship winner!

“This is my one and only life… and I want to be the best educator that I can be. Attaining my PhD. in early childhood/special education is my short term goal and helping as many people along the way is my life long goal. I feel Walden can help me with these goals since the school of education was rated #1 for online degrees in education according to US News January 2009. If I want to be the best, then I want the best. Since I am not geographically stable, online courses through Walden University is the way to meet my needs.”

Congratulations to Lauren Royall as the latest Recession Relief Scholarship winner!

” I’m Lauren Royall. I’m 24 and currently reside in Denver, Colorado with my boyfriend, Jack, and our two adorable cats, Toby and Victor. My mother was in the Air Force, so I was born on Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, and grew up on military bases around the United States. We settled in the Denver area in 1995 when my mom retired after 20 years in the service.

I completed a B.A. in English from the Metropolitan State College of Denver in December of 2004. After a life-changing but extremely expensive surgery in November of 2006, I decided to return to school to earn my Masters in Business Administration through the University of Phoenix. Though I don’t currently use my education in my “real” job as a waitress, I do use many of the business skills I have learned in my Avon business. I hope to have my very own business one day, and know that my MBA will help get me there.

My hobbies include reading, writing, playing the piano, singing, cooking, and crafts of all sorts. My ultimate goal is to be able travel the world, especially to Egypt, as well as having more time for all the things I enjoy. After all, we work to live; we don’t live to work.”

Congratulations to Chad Kaschube, a student at Purdue University in Indiana as the latest Recession Relief Scholarship winner!

“My tremendous ambition to live a successful life is in part fueled by the medical obstacles that I have had overcome thus far. In my sophomore year of high school, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. Crohn’s is a chronic immune system disorder where the immune system attacks the digestive track. I missed countless days of school throughout the first “flare-up” of symptoms. I was physically and emotionally drained. It would have been very easy to give up, but I just kept pressing on. I refused to let my disease stop me from being successful. Crohn’s a disease that still affects my daily life; however, I will never let it obstruct my path to success.”

Straightforward Media is proud to announce the 2nd Quarter, 2006 winner of our Recession Relief Scholarship, Kimberlee McMillian.

“I completed my Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice with honors in May of 2001 from California State University, Long Beach. I believe my story of debt really begins with graduation from college during that year. Up until that point, there were admirable and acceptable excuses to living< paycheck to paycheck and cutting back on fun, food, trendy clothing, gym membership fees, road trips, alcohol, restaurants, and morning coffee. I thought that it would be worth it to make such sacrifices and if I had a penny for every time somebody said, "Don't worry. It will all be worth it when you get that degree.", or "You'll be much better off than all those people who didn't choose to go to college.", then I could possibly be debt free at this time.

I have lived a fairly responsible lifestyle and imparted clean and clear judgment for the most part on my life decisions. I have taken extreme caution in making healthy lifestyle choices and always put an extra dose of healthy cynicism on life events to weed out those times when it really is too good to be true. However, on a more positive note, I have had the worst luck in those times when I put all of my eggs in one basket. Are you starting to get the irony here? We can never really say how life is going to be or plan the perfect future. We can take all of the information available to us at any given time and make the best decision, and it can still turn out the worst decision ever. And who is to say what is really a good decision or bad decision when it comes to my life experience?

Straightforward Media is proud to announce the winner of our 1st Quarter, 2006, Recession Relief Scholarship, Stephanie Ruggeri.

“I was born and reared in Northwest Indiana and have lived there my entire life. I attended Crown Point High School, and now I am finishing my first year of college at Indiana University in Bloomington. I am transferring to Valparaiso University to pursue a career in Musical Theatre/Music Business. It’s difficult for me to narrow down my academic interests and choose a major because as much as I love the arts, I also enjoy math, English, and science!

Music has always been my number 1 passion. I began playing guitar at the age of 11 and have been playing ever since. At the age of 16, I gained enough courage to branch out and actually play in front of an audience so I started playing at little venues. By my senior year of high school, I wanted to try out for my high school’s play and musical, and that decision has changed my life. I realized after being in those productions and experiencing theatre that I need performing in my life. My family has always been very supportive of my dreams, and I hope to make them proud someday very soon.”

Gayle Hansen

A non-traditional student, Gayle is returning to school as part of the Addiction Studies (ADS) program at Diablo Valley College (DVC), in Pleasant Hill, California. “I am pursuing California certification as an Alcohol and Addiction Counselor, as well as completion of my Associate in Arts Degree with an emphasis on multi-cultural studies. I am proud to say I finished my first semester back in college after a 32 year absence with a 4.0 GPA! After graduation from DVC I am hoping to continue my studies at California State University East Bay (Hayward) and beyond.”

Anita Cucchiaro

Anita Cucchiaro is currently working toward a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at George Mason University with the ultimate goal of becoming a physician. She is also a married, full-time working mother of two young sons and a stepdaughter who is also attending GMU. While going to school and raising a family, she has worked at a law firm in Washington, DC, where she has served as a secretary, legal assistant and legislative assistant. She is also an Emergency Medical Technician and volunteers her time at the free clinic in her county.

Lawrence Lee of Victoria, British Columbia and Latia Harper of Portland, Oregon, were the Quarter Two and Quarter Three, 2005 Recession Relief Scholarship winners!

Reneé King of Erie, Pa., was the winner of the inaugural Recession Relief Scholarship.

Reneé is a single mother to four daughters. She is currently a student at the Tri-West Business Institute in the Allied Health Department in the Practical Nursing Program. While in nursing school she has also obtained certifications as an Allied Health Instructor and Registered Medical Assistant. She is in the process of applying to a state university so that she may begin her studies for Bachelor’s in Nursing. Reneé is very grateful to be receiving this scholarship.

Will you be the next winner?

You can only win if you apply! But you’ve got a better chance than ever before, because now awards 4 Recession Relief Scholarships every year! That’s one every three months, and four chances each. So bookmark (Ctrl+D), and keep coming back to apply!