For Immediate Release
Contact:
Jenny Foust
CSG-PR
jfoust@csg-pr.com
(303) 433-7020 or (720) 244-4268
52 ADULTS AWARDED FULL-TUITION COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, AS PART OF ELEARNERS.COM CAREER STIMULUS PACKAGE CAMPAIGN
HOBOKEN, NJ -- 12/21/09 -- With just days until Christmas, eLearners.com (http://www.elearners.com), a web resource of EducationDynamics, which connects prospective students with online classes, today announced fifty-two of its Career Stimulus Package full-tuition scholarship recipients, making it an extra merry holiday season. The campaign scholarships, totaling more than $4 million, are provided by eight accredited online schools: American Public University, Ashworth College, Bryant & Stratton College, Capella University, Ellis University, Everest University, Virginia College and Western Governors University. Today five of the participating schools announced their recipients. The remaining recipients will be announced in early 2010.
“This is the ultimate holiday gift,” said Terrence Thomas, Executive Vice President of Marketing for eLearners.com. “For these recipients to start the New Year knowing a college degree is in their future, and that they don’t have to pay for it, is the best gift one can imagine. It’s the gift that truly keeps on giving.”
The scholarships awarded through the Career Stimulus Package range from the certificate to Ph.D. level. The recipients include:
ALABAMA
- Angela Powell, Florala, AL – Capella University
- Rebecca Scott, Montgomery, AL – Virginia College
- Shirley Brazil, Sardis, AL – Virginia College
ARIZONA
- Lynne Reuter, Prescott, AZ – Capella University
CALIFORNIA
- David Thatcher, La Mesa, CA – American Public University
- Melissa Feemster, Moreno Valley, CA – Bryant & Stratton College
COLORADO
- Patricia Williams, Denver, CO – American Public University
FLORIDA
- April Tuite, Ormond Beach, FL – Bryant & Stratton College
- Kimberly Roberts, Orlando, FL – Bryant & Stratton College
- Kimberly Shane, Saint Johns, FL – American Public University
GEORGIA
- James Flowers, Atlanta, GA – American Public University
- Patti Hoffmire, Newnan, GA – Bryant & Stratton College
- Martha Bartholomew, Powder Springs, GA – Western Governors University
- Lee Telemacque, Snellville, GA – American Public University
ILLINOIS
- Karen Rovers, Chicago, IL – Bryant & Stratton College
LOUISIANA
- Kacie Booker, Bossier City, LA – Bryant & Stratton College
MARYLAND
- Antwan Lewis, Fort Washington, MD – Virginia College
MASSACHUSETS
- Ellette DiPietro, Haverhill, MA – Capella University
MICHIGAN
- Kevin Fosshage, Howell, MI – Virginia College
- Jennifer Reno, Howell, MI – Western Governors University
- Doug MacNeil, Grand Rapids, MI – Capella University
- Marita Shedd, Rochester, MI – Virginia College
MINNESOTA
- Jenny Hanson, Minneapolis, MN – Capella University
NEBRASKA
- Roberto Benitez, Omaha, NE – American Public University
NEW YORK
- Sharon Dutcher, Geneva, NY – American Public University
- Batyah Rison, New York City, NY – Capella University
- Marlena Unz, Parish, NY – Bryant & Stratton College
- Eric Stein, Staten Island, NY - American Public University
- Sonya Chapman, Staten Island, NY – American Public University
- Lynn Sadowski, Swan Lake, NY – Virginia College
- Susan Hendrickson, West Hempstead, NY – American Public University
NORTH CAROLINA
- Patrick LaRose, Arden, NC – Capella University
OHIO
- Dorcas Calhoun, Middletown, OH – Bryant & Stratton College
OREGON
- Judith Lewis, Portland, OR – Capella University
- Frederick Helwig, Roseburg, OR – Bryant & Stratton College
PENNSYLVANIA
- James Clark, Bristol, PA – Virginia College
- Karen Ingalls, Coudersport, PA – Capella University
- Nicole Wise, Holidaysburg, PA – Virginia College
TENNESSEE
- Rebecca Shaver, Cookeville, TN – Virginia College
- Juanita Baker, White Bluff, TN – American Public University
TEXAS
- James Keys, Austin, TX – Western Governors University
- Kristi Brown, Euless, TX – American Public University
- Kristy Anderson, Flower Mound, TX – Capella University
- Afrika Franklin, Houston, TX – Bryant & Stratton College
VIRGINIA
- Denise Waffird, Alexandria, VA – Western Governors University
- Travis Combest, Centreville, VA – American Public University
- Vanessa Staples, Danville, VA – Bryant & Stratton College
- Sonya Chapman, Portsmouth, VA – American Public University
- Lillian Blackwell, Richmond, VA – Bryant & Stratton College
WASHINGTON
- Rosendo Guerrero, Federal Way, WY – American Public University
WYOMING
- JeriLyn Love, Lovell, WY – Western Governors University
The participating schools, in the eLearners.com Career Stimulus Package campaign, sorted through close to 300,000 applications from adults seeking financial aid to go back to school. The applicants had to submit a short application and an essay describing their goals, why they want to go back to school and how an online education would allow them to achieve those goals.
“What a dream come true for me…to get the education and a degree that I always dreamed of. To be able to provide the things my child needs. The very things my parents couldn’t provide for me…an education,” said one of the scholarship recipients in her winning essay. The essays are posted at www.careerstimulus.com.
eLearners.com launched the Career Stimulus Package campaign to help adults get the education they need to improve their lives and the lives of their families, particularly amid these hard economic times. The campaign highlighted the silent crisis in America - the lack of education among America’s adult population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 70 percent of Americans aged 25 and older did not have a bachelor’s degree in 2008. Equally startling, Americans with only a high school diploma are twice as likely to be unemployed compared to those with a bachelor’s degree. In addition to the full-tuition scholarships, the campaign also included an Empowerment Tour, which traveled across the U.S. offering people free career coaching and the opportunity to apply for a scholarship.
Additional Scholarship Deadline Looming
Given the overwhelming interest and demand in the Career Stimulus Package scholarships, EducationDynamics, the parent company of eLearners.com, has created “The National Adult Education & Empowerment Scholarship Fund”. The fund will offer up to ten $5,000 scholarships for adults to use for undergraduate or graduate study through a degree or training program on eLearners.com. To apply applicants can visit https://www.scholarshipamerica.org/educationdynamics/. The recipients will be selected based on family income, leadership abilities, work experience, goals and any unusual personal or family circumstances. The deadline to apply is December 30, 2009. This scholarship opportunity is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a division of Scholarship America.
Editors Note: To arrange an interview with a scholarship recipient, a member of the Career Stimulus Package, or a member of a participating school, contact Jenny Foust at 303.433.7020, 720.244.4268 or jfoust@csg-pr.com.
eLearners.com is one of several high visibility websites operated by EducationDynamics. 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.com provides a powerful search engine for users to find thousands of online degree 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 online learning programs. For more information on eLearners.com, visit http://www.eLearners.com.
About EducationDynamics
EducationDynamics, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, is higher education's leading marketing services company dedicated to helping 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. Through its Market Research Services division, the company brings a decade of proprietary research, unparalleled market and student intelligence, and best practice insights to its clients. For more information, visit http://www.educationdynamics.com.