Initial Project Working Mom Scholarship Recipients are Selected in Time for Mother’s Day

PRLog (Press Release) – May 07, 2008 – Hoboken, NJ – eLearners.com, a web resource offered by EducationDynamics, announced today that the first round of recipients for the “Project Working Mom: Putting Education to Work” full-ride scholarships will be announced and posted on www.projectworkingmom.com/winners just in time for Mother’s Day. Since the launch of Project Working Mom in January, more than 50,000 moms have applied—more than 500 per day—for a full-ride online college scholarship from American InterContinental University, DeVry University and Walden University. The scholarship pool totaled more than $2 million.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than to give the gift of education to almost 40 working moms who want to better their lives and the lives of their families,” said Terrence Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer for eLearners.com, the web site leader in connecting prospective students with online education. “The response and the stories of sacrifice and determination from the applicants for the $2 million in scholarships have been a stark reminder of the struggles working moms face in balancing life and work and how online education can be the saving grace to achieving the education these women want and need.”

Selection committees from each of the participating universities have been choosing the scholarship recipients, based on university requirements and the applicant’s essay. The committees select the recipients by looking at their desire and motivation for education, personal and career goals and instances of triumph over adversity.

“No one in my family has achieved what I aspire to accomplish,” wrote one of the scholarship applicants. “My mom dropped out of school in 7th grade. My father graduated high school and never continued on with college. No one in my family has completed college. They all just scrape by month by month, both with their income and their happiness. I want to break down the barriers that have been laid before me by others who say that I cannot succeed.”

Another applicant said getting her degree is important because she is a single mother, working two jobs and struggling to make ends meet. “I want to show my daughter that you do not have to let your dreams go,” said the applicant.

According to research, conducted last year, from American InterContinental University, more than half of the mothers surveyed wanted a career change and recognized that education serves as the key to achieving that goal. In the survey 80 percent of moms 18 to 29 said they wanted more college and job skills.

“We’ve just skimmed the surface of the demand and need for education among working moms,” continued Thomas. “There are hundreds of thousands of working moms that face an uphill battle everyday with time, money and confidence,” continued Thomas. “Some of these hurdles can be overcome with online education, but money is equally challenging. We’re happy that Project Working Mom could play a small role in helping these women overcome these obstacles to make their dreams come true; we just wish we could help more.”

Each of the Project Working Mom scholarship recipients will have the opportunity to complete an online degree program, at no charge. An online education is the perfect fit for these working mothers and other adults trying to juggle raising a family, work and a college education. By studying online, students overcome the barriers of time and distance to make education fit into busy lives.

For the applicants who did not receive a full-ride college scholarship and anyone else interested in furthering their education, eLearners.com offers a fast, easy to use scholarship database containing more than $14 billion in financial aid. The database includes awards from the freshman to the graduate level, and categorizes them by local, state, national and international scholarship opportunities. The database can be found at http://www.elearners.com/scholarships/.

For more information on Project Working Mom and to see the names of the scholarship recipients log onto www.projectworkingmom.com/winners.

Editor’s Note: To interview one of the scholarship recipients or a working mom in your area, contact Jenny Foust at 303.433.7020, jfoust@csg-pr.com. For more information about American InterContinental University contact Michael Foley at 847.851.7093, mfoley@careered.com; DeVry University contact Donna Shaults at 630.706.3139, dshaults@devry.com; Walden University contact Ana Sanchez at 410.843.8083, ana.sanchez@laureate-inc.com.

About eLearners.com®
The eLearners.com website is one of several high visibility, high-quality websites operated by EducationDynamics, LLC. Since 1999, eLearners.com has been successfully connecting learners to online education, including online degree and certificate programs, specialized career training, and a variety of online courses. For prospective students, eLearners® provides a powerful search engine for users to find thousands of online program offerings, as well as educational evaluation tools and financial aid resources. For online colleges and universities, the eLearners.com website offers a low-cost, performance-based method to provide national exposure and increase enrollments in their programs. For more information on eLearners.com, visit http://www.elearners.com/.

About EducationDynamics
EducationDynamics, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, is the leading marketing and information services company dedicated to helping higher education institutions find, enroll and retain students. Its content-rich and highly visible education websites, including EarnMyDegree.com, eLearners.com, GradSchools.com, StudyAbroad.com, and its more than 50 special interest microsites, make EducationDynamics the premier provider of qualified prospective students for colleges and universities. In addition, the company offers a full suite of web-delivered services proven to drive enrollment growth and reduce student attrition. For more information, visit http://www.educationdynamics.com.