NORCROSS, Georgia – Ashworth College today announced that Claude Aina, a father from College Park, GA is the recipient of a national “Project Working Mom…and Dads, Too!” full-ride scholarship. Aina will pursue a Professional Home Inspection Program at Ashworth College, an accredited online institution. Ashworth College is one of the five participating “Project Working Mom…and Dads, Too!” schools to help send parents back to college – tuition free – in these tough economic times.
This latest Project Working Mom campaign, the third in a series, received more than double the number of applications submitted in the first two rounds held in 2008 combined. This year generated more than 315,000 applications, including some of the most gut-wrenching, heart-warming and inspiring essays as part of the process.
College Park father, Aina, is one of about 60 parents to receive the “Project Working Mom…and Dads, Too!” scholarship;
A self-made man, Joe Aina works as a contractor in the Atlanta area and plans to use education as a way to give back to his community. “I am in the process of opening a school to teach young people about the construction trade and how to build houses,” he explained. “Many of our youth are lost. I’m hoping my school will steer some in the right direction.”
“Getting my degree would be the most exiting thing to ever happen to me,” he exclaimed. “Everything I've learned so far has been self-taught or hands on training. Formal education will help me to achieve my goals. With limited time and funds, an online program from Ashworth College is the ideal solution.
“Partnering with Project Working Mom…and Dads Too! has been a fantastic opportunity for Ashworth College to help make a difference. Through education, we’ve been able to help deserving, hard-working parents improve their lives,” said F. Milton Miller, Ed.D. and Ashworth Vice President, Education.
“A college degree can set an employee or business owner apart as a professional, demonstrating business knowledge to peers, potential customers and employers,” Miller added. “Education can take skills - and income - to the next level.”
Each of the “Project Working Mom…and Dads, Too!” scholarship recipients will receive a scholarship to complete an online degree program tuition free. The overwhelming response to this scholarship opportunity and the stories of sacrifice and determination from the applicants have been a stark reminder of the struggles parents face in balancing life, work and school and how online education can help people achieve their goals.
“Going back to school isn’t easy, but without the right degree you may get passed over for a job or promotion,” said Helen MacDermott, the content director for “Project Working Mom…and Dads, Too!”, who is also a mom going to school online. “This campaign was designed to remove the barriers so people can go to school at their own time and pace and don’t have to worry about the costs. We’ve helped make dreams come true and it’s been an honor to be a part of these campaigns.”
eLearners.com, an online education resource that connects prospective students with online learning providers, first created “Project Working Mom” in January 2008. The initial campaign received more than 50,000 applications and awarded about 40 scholarships. That campaign was quickly followed by “Project Working Mom 2”, which received more than 72,000 applicants and awarded more than 50 scholarships. All campaigns combined distributed an estimated market value of more than $6 million in full-ride scholarships.
