With the current economic climate, Williams, a veteran of the U.S. Army, has found it difficult to achieve stability in his household and finding long term, permanent employment. He plans to pursue a Professional Medical Transcriptionist Program at Ashworth College to have more success in the job market by supporting himself from home.
“As a veteran of the U.S. Army, I know what the meaning of discipline is so I know that I have the necessary skills to start and complete my educational goals,” Williams said. “I have experienced great loss in the last few years with the deaths of both my mother and father. My father was a minister and instilled within me and my other 11 siblings a sense of pride in everything that we do. I wish to display that with my pursuit of my education.”
The Career Stimulus Package $4 million scholarship campaign was designed to highlight the need for financial aid and promote awareness and interest in online higher education. It also helped give people the confidence they need to pursue a degree and the career they want, even in this tough economy. The Career Stimulus Package campaign received about 100,000 applications a month from adults who expressed interest in returning to school. To apply for a scholarship, applicants had to explain why they want to go back to school, what they hope to accomplish, how online education would help them accomplish those goals, and their personal stories of triumph over adversity.
“Participating in the Career Stimulus Package Scholarship Campaign has been a positive experience for Ashworth College,” said F. Milton Miller, Ed.D. and Ashworth Vice President, Education. “It’s a great opportunity, through education, to help deserving, hard-working adults make a positive impact in their lives.”
“With the current economic climate, it is essential to have the greatest competitive advantage possible,” Miller added. “Having a college degree or advanced training can set an employee or job seeker apart -- demonstrating business knowledge to peers, potential customers and current or future employers.”
In addition to the scholarship for Williams, Ashworth College granted an additional 29 scholarships. In total, the Career Stimulus Package campaign awarded more than 100 full-tuition scholarships to deserving adults, with the help of eight accredited online schools.
“Thanks to the incredible generosity of our partner schools, adults are able to go back to school without having to worry about how they are going to fund their education,” said Terrence Thomas, Executive Vice President of Marketing for eLearners.com. “Adults are often a forgotten population when it comes to financial aid. We hear from people over and over that they want to go back to school, but can’t afford it. This campaign helped eliminate one huge roadblock for these individuals.”
The Career Stimulus Package campaign also included a nationwide RV tour which traveled across the country from June to September 2009, offering free career coaching. Nearly 1,000 people took part in the career coaching, which led to the creation of a free book of wisdom based on the most common questions asked from the road. That book can be found at http://www.careerstimulus.com.
