NORCROSS, Georgia – Ashworth College today announced that Laurel Padilla, a resident of St. Robert, MO, is the recipient of a full-tuition scholarship, to pursue her degree online. Padilla’s essay, where she shared her personal story and aspiration to attain a higher education to improve her life, was selected from the close to 300,000 applicants applying for an eLearners.com Career Stimulus Package Scholarship.
Whether creating a dream wedding for a client or pursuing an education for herself, Padilla sees only life’s “big picture” where she is smiling, her clients are happy and dreams really do come true. As a recent scholarship recipient, she plans to pursue her dreams in a Professional Bridal Consulting Program at Ashworth College (http://www.ashworthcollege.edu).
“I have always wanted to be a bridal consultant,”
Padilla explained that pursuing Ashworth’s online Bridal Consulting program is an opportunity that will open doors for her family, financially. She currently supports a family of five on her single income.
Padilla credits her mother as her inspiration. “She’s one of the most creative people I know,” she said. “We never had much money growing up, so she used every ounce of her imagination to create what was needed -- such as a school project or a special gift. She would come up with the idea and with her love and helping hands we always came up with a beautiful work of art.”
“I realized early on that even if something did not cost a lot of money, it was no less special or beautiful. This I believe has set the stage for wanting to do beautiful, affordable weddings,” Padilla explained. “I get excited just thinking about helping couples plan the most important day of their life. I know that I can give them something that they might not think possible or achievable.”
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 Padilla, 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.
Editor’s Note: To arrange an interview with a scholarship recipient, or a member of the Career Stimulus Package campaign contact Jenny Foust at 303.433.7020, jfoust@csg-pr.com. To speak with a member of Ashworth College contact Richard Orr at 770.729.8400, rorr@ashworthcollege.edu.
