Category: Student Spotlight

9/2/22

Single mom studies early childhood education to create a brighter future for her family and community

Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund September 2022 Student of the Month Gabrielle Hunter wholeheartedly believes children are our future. “We have to be supportive and encourage them to work hard and strive for the best, to never give up,” she said. “We have to show them it’s true you can be whatever you want to be.” Gabrielle has been working with children for over nine years and is currently employed at Clarendon ABC preschool as a... Read More
at 9/2/22
Student Spotlight Student of the Month
Share |

8/9/22

Single dad ‘trying to change the family norm’ by going to college

Kendrick Jackson is Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund's Student of the Month for August 2022. Since starting his higher education journey, he and his daughters, Keniya and Kimmorah, have GPA competitions.  Single father Kendrick Jackson found himself sitting at home collecting disability checks to support his daughters, Keniya and Kimmorah. He had fainted at his factory job after having heart surgery and couldn’t return. Kendrick’s coworkers had... Read More
at 8/9/22
Student Spotlight Student of the Month
Share |

7/19/22

ASPSF supports single mom’s dream of becoming an airline pilot

Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship's Student of the Month for July is Brandy Manning (left). She has a daughter and is pursing her bachelor's degree in aviation at Henderson State University.  Brandy Manning loves to fly.  “Being in the air is an incredible feeling,” she said. With the help of Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund, Brandy is inching closer to achieving her goal of becoming an airline pilot. In addition to tuition and fees at ... Read More
at 7/19/22
Student Spotlight Student of the Month
Share |

7/5/22

Little Rock single mother shows her three children ‘it’s never too late’ to go back to school

Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund Scholarship recipient Toccara Pearson (back) inspires her family to work hard for their goals. Few parents can say they graduated at the same time as their children, but single mom Toccara Pearson has done it twice! In May 2019, Toccara completed her associate degree from the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College as her oldest daughter, To’Kira, graduated high school. In May 2022, Toccara received her... Read More
at 7/5/22
Student Spotlight
Share |

6/17/22

Single dads reflect on their favorite aspect of fatherhood

When people hear the term single parent, they typically picture a mom, but there are thousands of single dads in Arkansas raising kids, working, facing hardships, and — in the case of the single fathers we serve — going to school. For Father’s Day, Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund reached out to our single dads, asking them to share their favorite thing about fatherhood.  Here are their answers! “My favorite thing about being a father is... Read More
at 6/17/22
Student Spotlight
Share |

6/7/22

ASPSF recipient shows her sons to never give up their dreams

Chelsea Phillips stands with her sons Tyler, left, and JaKayden. Chelsea is Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund's Student of The Month for June 2022.  At her May graduation ceremony, Chelsea Phillips received two surprises. The first was receiving the Florence Nightingale Award, which is South Arkansas Community College Betty Owen School of Practical Nursing’s highest honor. It recognizes a nursing student who goes above and beyond in the program to... Read More
Posted by Jen Para at 6/7/22
Student Spotlight
Share |

5/10/22

First in family to attend postsecondary school, single mom says ASPSF ‘helped me keep my head above water’

Shalonda with her daughter, Catoria, and son, Kirdarion.  Shalonda Garner found herself in a situation like many single mothers find themselves: without a job, two young children, no child support, and a decision to make about the future. “I was working a factory job in Jonesboro, and I lost my job,” Shalonda said. “I thought, ‘I’m not going to sit around on my butt and do nothing,’ so I had to figure out what I was going to do.”... Read More
at 5/10/22
Student Spotlight
Share |

4/25/22

Former stay-at-home mom finds support from ASPSF to study accounting

Loretta studies for her postsecondary accounting degree. Returning to college after 35 years? That’s not what Loretta had in mind for her 50s. But after decades as a stay-at-home mom, Loretta found herself at a crossroads.   She needed a way to support herself and her son still living at home. But she didn’t have the skills or work history to land a good job. Desperate, she turned to the fast-food industry. “I put in so many applications,” she... Read More
at 4/25/22
Student Spotlight
Share |

4/13/22

ASPSF recipient Alana Sterling perseveres to become a registered nurse

Alana Sterling has fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a registered nurse. Alana Sterling is a single mother of two amazing girls. Alana, originally from Jamaica, lives in Conway with her two school-age daughters. Her path with Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund has been a long journey of success and accomplishment, and her hard work has led her to full-time employment as a registered nurse for the state of Arkansas. Alana’s journey with ASPSF began in 2014. At the... Read More
at 4/13/22
Student Spotlight
Share |

3/22/22

With ASPSF's help, Jasandra Gil finds stability as she readies for graduation

Jasandra Gil, nursing student at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, said her daughter, Roselle, is the "light of my life." Now in her final semester of college at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, 23-year-old single mom Jasandra Gil feels like she is finally in a stable place in her life. She and her 4-year-old daughter, Roselle, have survived an abusive relationship, lack of family support, financial hardship, Jasandra’s diagnosis of rheumatoid... Read More
at 3/22/22
Single Parent Student Spotlight
Share |