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It just felt like home, being on the campus.
I'm from a small town, and so Emporia was big to me
as a town, but the campus...it didn't make me feel like
I was lost in the shuffle or anything. I knew they had
small class sizes, I knew they had a great teacher prep
program, and I wanted to be a teacher, so I
decided to come here.
There are individuals here who want to invest in your
life; that they want to see you grow, and they'll do
anything to make that possible. And they'll look for
opportunities, they'll look for chances to really bring
out the best in you. That's something that really spoke
to me, something that really grabbed me, and something that kept
me at Emporia and made me fall in love with the place.
I guess I kind of picked ESU not because it was easy, but
because it felt comfortable. My uncle, Randy Crome, came
here, graduated in 1990, I believe. He had nothing but
great things to say, and he was really the person who
kind of pushed me to choose Emporia in particular.
My dream since I was a little girl was to be a teacher.
And after I knew about how great Emporia State's teacher
program was and decided to come here, I worked all the
way through college too part-time, and without the scholarships
my student loans would be way larger than they are.
Financial aid was crucial to my education, and something
that's really a gift that I want to pass on. And I see it as not
only my opportunity but also my obligation
to that next generation.
So those scholarships really do...they make the difference.
I grew up in a rural community, my father is very closely
tied to agriculture. Money's not exactly pouring in, so
knowing that financial support pays my tuition, it really
takes a load off my shoulders.
They worked with me and they found me a placement
and they found me a placement where I actually get to
work with grades 7 through 12 instead of just being
qualified for grades 7 through 12. Because our licensure
tests qualify us for those grades, but I wanted the
experience of working with a seventh grader and a senior
and being able to say...and that was a big deal for me
today at the career fair, and a lot of people were really
impressed--"Oh, you actually taught all those grades," and I could
say "yes." So I hope that works in my favor.
The skills that I gained at Emporia State are easily being
translated here at the Foundation, continually and daily.
Whether it's strategic planning, whether it is initiating
programs, working with external or internal communications,
I wouldn't have had that skill set, had I not been involved
with what I was involved with at Emporia State.
Graduating without debt is a big thing for me right now,
but having those connections with a community that I
grew up next to, but not in, is reassuring. It lets me know
that Emporia is somewhere what takes care of you not
only when you're a freshman and a sophomore and they're
trying to get you hooked, but as a junior and as a senior
and as a graduate, I know that I'll have someone looking
out for me, especially someone in higher education,
someone who can really help out.
I'm just so thankful that people donate their money to
help people like me achieve what we want to be.
Thank you...thank you...thank you! I can't say it enough.
The one thing I don't have to worry about going into finals is how I'm gonna pay for the next semester.