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This is the second straight year that Samantha Berryhill has earned an SAO scholarship.
“It feels just as good as it did last year,” she said with a grin.
Ms. Berryhill hopes to transfer to Bowling Green State University to finish her bachelor’s degree once she’s finished at Owens Community College with an associate’s degree in social work. She hopes to attend law school someday.
“There are many kinds of college students,” she said. “There are 17 and 18-year olds and people who are in their 30’s. It just depends on who wants to go back to school.”
Ms. Berryhill may have started as the traditional college student straight out of high school. But she now represents the changing face of college students as a 21-year old mother of a young daughter. She stated that role motivates her to finish her degree and the SAO scholarship will help keep her on that path.
“It’s not just about me anymore. I have someone else to worry about,” she said.
The only student unable to attend the pregame check presentation was Carmen Beltrán, an Owens student who is working on an associate degree in office administration technology.
“We’re getting more and more applicants, which shows we are growing in the educational community and they’re seeing what we can do,” said Phil Barbosa, SAO president. “We also have a lot more students willing to put in the time and the effort. They’re seeing the Latino community really means the hard work behind everything that we do.”
This is the eleventh year for the scholarships. Fundraisers are held throughout the year to fund the program, but the nonprofit organization also is seeking endowments to keep the scholarship fund going well into the future, as well as add more schools.
“It’s a sense of pride for the organization—especially for how long we’ve been doing it and to now see some of the students going for their master’s degrees,” said Barbosa. “Now that they’re going farther, it’s better for the organization, better for them, and better for the community. Everyone sees what we’re capable of.”
SAO members see the scholarship fund as a long-term investment in the future of the next few generations of Latinos. In the same breath mentioning the University of Toledo and Herzing University-Toledo as other schools he’d like to add, Barbosa also has hopes of other colleges and universities across the state, such as Ohio State University and Baldwin-Wallace College near Cleveland.
“Hopefully everyone sees what these young people can do with a little bit of a push,” said Barbosa. “Not all of our kids go to those (local) schools. They want to go everywhere else and we’d like to follow them and make our presence known state-wide.”
The SAO president was not surprised to find adult scholarship recipients in the fold in recent years, ranging in age from 20 to 42.
“There are a lot of people who are re-entering the workforce and changing their job description, changing their lives to a positive choice to move forward,” he said. “They’re moving forward from where they were before. They’re a little more driven, see what they can accomplish, and every little bit financially helps them. But getting good grades helps them see what’s at the end of the rainbow.”
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